kyle's earth day lesson

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Kyle's Earth Day Lesson

by Lori Dake, 2002

Kyle's Earth Day Lesson, by Lori Dake, 2002

Kyle is a little boy who lives in a big city. He lives in big apartment building with 12 other families, and

every family is very different, but they all get along. Kyle has a mom and a dad and a big orange cat

named Sneaky. Like every other family in the big apartment building, Kyle's family is different, too.

As Kyle sat at the table eating his breakfast, he looked out the window to watch two squirrels play. He

thought they were so funny the way they raced back and forth across the telephone poles. "I bet

they're just happy that it's such a nice day," Kyle thought to himself. Back and forth the squirrels ran -

some so daring that it reminded him of the acrobats he saw on television. "How much fun it must be to

be a squirrel," Kyle thought to himself again as he continued to eat his breakfast.

Kyle finished eating, rinsed out his dishes in the sink and grabbed his backpack. He threw it over his

shoulder and kissed his mom good-bye. Kyle walked out the door and headed down the stairs. As he

was walking towards his bus stop, Kyle saw his good friend Alejandro. "Hiya, Alejandro!" Kyle said as

he approached him, but Alejandro seemed too busy to notice. Alejandro was crouched on the

sidewalk, but Kyle couldn't figure out what his friend was doing.

"Ummm," Kyle said, "what's up?". Kyle then kneeled down next to his friend and waved his hand over

his face. Alejandro looked up and said, "Check this out!" Kyle looked and saw a blob of messy green

plastic. Kyle was very confused. "What is that stuff?" Alejandro made a funny smile, and Kyle knew

his friend was going to get into trouble.

As Kyle peered closer, he realized the green mess had partly melted army men. Alejandro then

showed his friend a magnifying glass he got from his older brother. "Jorge said you can melt and burn

stuff with this, "Alejandro said, "but I didn't believe him." Alejandro looked at his creation. "Now I do!"

Kyle shook his head, because he knew making messes like that was wrong. Kyle's parents always

said that anything he did needed to be cleaned up when he was finished, and Kyle couldn't figure out

how to clean up this mess!

Kyle looked up and heard a familiar sound - the school bus! Alejandro suddenly became worried, so he

stood in front of the melted plastic in hopes no one would notice. The bus pulled up and opened the

door. Kyle hopped on, and Alejandro boarded as well, though much more slowly. "Good morning, Mrs.

Campbell," Kyle said to the bus driver, who smiled and replied, "Good morning Kyle." Alejandro

followed his friend and sat next to him. Normally Alejandro said good morning to his bus driver as well,

but today he just hoped she would drive off and not notice the mess he had made.

Mrs. Campbell thought Alejandro was behaving oddly. She pulled the latch to close the door when she

noticed the big green blob outside, right where the two boys were standing. Mrs. Campbell glared at

them, but didn't say anything. The bus statred up and the children on the bus were on their way to

school.

When Kyle and Alejandro arrived at school, they realized there was still plenty of time to play beforethe bell rang. It was such a bright sunny day, so the boys were very happy to have the chance to

enjoy the weather.

Alejandro set down his backpack and reached inside. He pulled out the magnifying glass and a few

army men out of his pocket. Kyle looked at his friend and shook his head again. Alejandro crouched

down and stood one of his men up. He started holding the magnifying glass over it, redirecting the

sunlight onto the toy. "This takes a couple minutes to get going," Alejandro said to Kyle. "But once it

does, it just keeps getting hotter!"

Kyle kneeled down and watched. Within a couple minutes, the plastic man began to smoke. After a

couple more minutes, the man's face started to become distored. Kyle was actually quite impressed,
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because it reminded him of how his mom's candles melted.

Suddenly, a large shadow cast over Kyle and Alejandro's project. Alejandro looked up to see who or

what was interrupting his fun! Kyle suddenly fel a sense of dread when he realized where the shadow

was coming from. "Errrr, Mr. Collins!" Alejandro said. "I wasn't doing anything!" Kyle added. The boys'

teacher had a very stern look on his face. "I think you boys need to come with me," he said. Kyle and

his friend slowly stood up and grabbed their backpacks.

They followed Mr. Collins into the school. They followed him up the first flight of stairs. Then the boys

followed their teacher up a second flight of stairs. They were both confused, because they both knew

the higher floors were for the bigger kids. They then climbed up to the third floor! "Where is he taking

us," Kyle thought to himself.

Mr. Collins led the boys down the hall and into one of the classrooms. "Why don't you two take a seat

in the back there," Mr. Collins said as he gestured to a table in the back row. Kyle and Alejandro didn't

say anything as they sat down and rested their back packs. Mr. Collins stepped out, and soon, they

were alone... or so it seemed.

One by one, some of the big kids started walking into the room. Kyle and Alejandro felt very wierd,

because the big kids were looking at them funny. Then, an older woman walked in and clapped her

hands. Everyone faced forward and began opening their notebooks.

"Good morning class," the older woman said. "Today, we have a couple of our younger studentsamong us, who will be sharing in our discussion." The older woman walked towards Kyle and his friend

and smiled warmly at them. "What are your names?" she said to the boys. "I'm Kyle," he said shyly.

"And I'm Alejandro," his friend replied as he looked at his shoes. "Well I'm Mrs. Stark," she replied to

the boys and smiled at them. "Please face forward and pay attention." Kyle and Alejandro looked up

and did as they were told.

Mrs. Stark returned to the front of the room and began to open all of the blinds. Many of the big kids

squinted as the sunlight poured into the room. Mrs. Stark looked at the boys and smiled at them.

"Alejandro," she said, "why don't you explain to the class what you were doing to the sunlight this

morning." Alejandro swallowed hard, looked at his feet and cleared his throat. "I was melting stuff," he

said. Mrs. Stark smiled brightly as the big kids began to giggle. "Well, Alejandro," she said, "it's nice

you've discovered how to harness a natural, clean and renewable source of energy, but perhaps itcould have been put to better use?" Alejandro sighed and returned to looking at his feet.

Kyle watched intently as Mrs. Stark continued. "Kyle," she said as she pointed at him. Kyle felt like

he had just been jolted from a deep sleep. "Yes?" she replied. "Can you name me another renewable

source of energy?" Kyle thought about things his parents discuss. "Corn?" he replied. With that, the

classroom was filled with roaring laughter. "Oh pu-lease!" one of the big kids said as she rolled her

eyes. A big kid sitting in front of Kyle turned around to face him. "Okay corn boy," he said smugly and

faced the front again. Kyle felt his cheeks begin to glow a bright red as he sank deeper and deeper in

his chair.

Mrs. Stark clapped her hands again to quiet everyone down. "Is he right?" she asked the class. Her

reply was a resounding "No!" One of the big kids sitting up front blurted, "Corn is a vegetable, not asource of energy!" Mrs. Stark then addressed the class again. "Actually," she began, "corn is both

something you and your family's car can use for fuel." Instantly, the class quieted in disbelief. "Ethanol

can be extracted from corn to produce fuel, which many states have begun to use." Kyle looked up

and raised his hand. He realized his parens were correct so he decided to try again.

Mrs. Stark called on Kyle again. Kyle stated that air, fire, earth and water can all be used as

renewable sources of energy. Mrs. Stark thought a second and then agreed with him. "Windmills have

been around for centuries," she replied, "and fire has been around since the beginning of man." She

then went on to educate the class on how dams are used to create energy. "The city of Las Vegas,

with its unending use of electricity, is powered by the Hoover Dam. And the first trains were powered

by steam, which required the use of burning wood and coal to make it run." Mrs. Stark then smiled at

Kyle again. "So yes Kyle, you are correct."


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Kyle smiled ear to ear, and the big kids became impressed with the lit tle boy's knowledge. Alejandro

was impressed, too! Mrs. Stark then continued with her lesson. "With Earth Day being tomorrow,

perhaps we should discuss other ways of gaining energy." She then pulled up a map which was hiding

a symbol of three arrows truning in a clockwise motion, or deosil, as Kyle's family called it. "Have any

of you seen this symbol before?" Mrs. Stark asked the class. Many of the big kids raised their hand,

but some didn't. "It means recycling - using what we already have available again and again." She then

went into explaining different methods of recycling, such as cleaning paper, melting down aluminum,

and washing bottles.

Mrs. Stark also pointed out the importance of conservation. "Some things we use can never be

replaced. Does anyone know what a big one is?" The class thought hard, and a few hands were

raised. Mrs. Stark again called on Kyle. "Kyle," she said, "what do you think?" Kyle smiled and

replied "Gasoline". Mrs. Stark once again smiled at her student for the day. "Very good," she replied,

and then went into explaining what fossil fuels are, and why Kyle said they canot be replaced." Mrs.

Stark then began discussing how people have already begun to use renewable sources of energy

instead of fossil fuels, in order to conserve what is left.

Mrs. Stark also touched on pollution and air quality. "Did you know that trees are our friends?" she

said to the class. Most of the big kids laughed, but Kyle nodded in agreement. "Trees make oxygen

for us to breathe, they provide us with wood to make lots of things, some provide food for us to eat,

and they all help keep the Earth cool with shade." Kyle smiled because he already knew this. "But do

you know how long it takes for a tree to grow?" Some of the big kids raised their hands, but Mrs. Stark

didn't call on anyone. Intead, she began to pass out sheets for everyone to study. On it was all sorts

of information on trees. "I want you to study this, as there will be a quiz tomorrow."

With that, the bell rang, and the big kids all began to hurry off to their next class. Kyle and Alejandro

remain seated, because they didn't know what they were suppost to do. Mrs. Stark walked to the

back where the boys were sitting. "Thank you for being a part of my class today," she said. "You may

return to your class now."

Kyle and Alejandro picked up their books and went down to the first floor and into their own room. Mr.

Collins gestured to the boys to take their seats. "Alejandro," Mr. Collins said, "please tell the class

where you and Kyle were." Alejandro began to talk about all of the things Mrs. Stark had taught him,

and his class hung on every word. Kyle was happy not to be the center of attention this time, so hesat quietly and listened to his friend speak.

Later that day when Kyle was home, he began telling his mom and dad everything that happened at

school. He then asked his parents what they could do for Earth Day. They all came up with a great

idea, and gathered everything they would need.

The next day after school, Kyle came home and immediately began to help his mom and dad with

their Earth Day project. They grabbed the rake, the shovel and the hoe. Kyle's mom grabbed a bag of

grass seed, and his dad took a box of trash bags. They walked dow the street to the ugly, abandoned

lot that everyone hated. They began to clean up all of the broken glass and crumpled paper. Kyle's dad

then rotated the soil and pulled out all of the rocks and weeds. Kyle's mom then sprinkled grass seed

everywhere.

Soon, the ugly lot just looked like a bunch of dirt - now very pretty, but a big improvement. Some of the

neighbors saw what Kyle's family was up to, and started helping out. An eldery woman from next door

brought down some of her potted flowers to plant. A man next door dragged out his hose to water the

seeds. Another man two doors down came over with a hammer, nails and some paint to repair the old

fence.

Kyle was so happy to see other people join in his project! By the end of the week, a gazeebo and a

bench were built, and a section was dedicated to a flowering garden. Kyle couldn't wait to see the new

lot in summer!

As he looked on, a butterfly rested on his shoulder. Kyle smiled as he looked at it gently open and


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close its wings. Kyle smiled and felt the Gods looking down on his good deed, and thought the

butterfly was their messenger. He knew the lot was going to last for many years, because he believed

the neighborhood, as well as himself, had learned how to care for the Earth, even in the smallest of

ways.

kyle's earth day lesson

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