Winter 911

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Winter 911

• By Mandi Burton, Alyse Phillips, and Mandy
  Pumphrey

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It seemed like a normal day at McMillan
Elementary School. Mrs. Martinez was in one of
her normal, well if you can call it normal, moods
and once again the class was trying hard to pay
attention to her lesson on why we have the
seasons. It was so hard to concentrate because
it was the end of summer and everything was so
warm and green outside. The children just wanted
to go outside and play basketball or jump rope.
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Mrs. Martinez noticed that Tom was extremely
distracted and that none of the children were
concentrating on her. They were all staring out
the window or looking at the clock to see how
much longer they had until the bell would ring
for recess. Mrs. Martinez realized that they
needed to experience this lesson hands on!
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Suddenly, the alarm in the school started to go
off and it got very cold. When the children
looked out the window they could only see white.
It was a blizzard! What is going on here?
shouted Phillip. Just a few minutes ago the sun
was shining and it was so beautiful. They
couldnt understand what had happened. Mrs.
Martinez just sat there with a smirk on her face.
She knew exactly what was happening.
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The teacher told the children to go sit at their
computers, it was time for the class to save
their city from endless winter. As the children
sat down they noticed that something strange was
happening, and suddenly they were pulled into the
computer screen! It was time for another
exciting adventure.
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At the other end of the computer, the children
were amazed as they looked around. They were in
outer space! Mrs. Martinez told the children to
take a good look at the Earth. What do we need
to do to stop it from being winter all the time?
she asked. Suddenly, they had wished that they
had been listening to the lesson that day.
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Phillip stood up and announced that he knew
exactly what to do. The Earth was simply too far
away from the sun. He explained to the class
that all they needed to do was push the Earth
closer to the sun and it would be summer again.
The class quickly agreed, but before they began
to push Mrs. Martinez decided to show them what
life was like on a planet that was closer to the
Sun.
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Mrs. Martinez showed the class the planet
Mercury. The students saw how hot it was there,
and how it would be impossible to live on that
planet. They decided that maybe there was a
better way to save their town from the blizzard.
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This is so easy! exclaimed Geegee. She
couldnt believe that even though she was not
concentrating during the lesson, she knew just
what they needed to do. All we have to do is
rotate the Earth around and then it will be
summer again. Mrs. Martinez once again had that
smirk on her face, and she decided to allow the
class to figure this one out on their own.
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The class walked towards the planet and they each
pushed with all of their might on Earth. They
rotated the Earth around. It seemed like the
perfect plan. They all shouted and cheered. But
then, Mrs. Martinez cell phone began to ring.
It was Hammy, the class pet.
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Whats going on up there? he shouted. You
made everything go dark. It is night and still
snowing! The class immediately rotated the
Earth back to its original position and decided
that it was time for some serious brainstorming.
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• After a few minutes of serious thinking, Linda
  stood up and announced that she remembered what
  Mrs. Martinez had said about what causes the
  seasons. It isnt the rotation of the Earth,
  she said, that only changes it from night to
  day. It is the tilt of the Earth that makes it
  summer or winter.
• What do you mean the tilt? the class
  confusedly asked.
• When the Earth is tilted towards the sun,
  the heat is hitting the city more directly so it
  is summer. When it is tilted away, it is
  winter. Linda explained. They took a look at
  the Earth and noticed that she was right, it was
  tilted away from the sun.

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This time everyone just gathered on one side of
Earth and pushed it forward, just a little, so
that it would be at just the right angle. Mrs.
Martinez was so proud of her students. Suddenly,
they were back in their classroom again. Hammy
was sunbathing outside and thanked the class for
saving the town from Winter, when it was supposed
to be Summer.
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The children had arrived home just in time to
catch the bus and to relate their exciting
adventures to their parents at home!
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THE END