Once upon a time in the little town of Mapleville lived Elliot, a boy who loved to climb trees, especially outside at recess

Yipee!

But, one day at school he heard some bad news about his very favorite tree, the Elm

Unfortunately, kids, we have to cut down the Elm tree to make space for a new slide...

Something his teacher said made him think about what he could do for his tree

Your parents all said that you would rather the slide than the tree anyways!

?

?

So Elliot asked his classmates what they had told their parents

Did you guys tell your parents you wanted a slide?

No

Of course not! I love the Elm!

At home, he told his mom about the tree problem

But I love the tree! And we already have a slide too!

I know Elliot, I wonder who would want the tree cut down...

And Elliot texted his classmates to hear what their parents said

My mom said she didn't say anything to the school

Mine didn't either!

Until Sally's dad brought up an interesting point...

My dad says he thinks they might cut it down to save money on taking care of it!

And Elliot had a great idea to save the Elm tree!

What if we all tell the school we don't want the slide, and that we would rather the Elm!

Yeah! Let's do it!

So Elliot sat down with his mom to write the school an email...

...and they sent it to all of his friends and their parents to share for themselves too

Dear Mapleville Elementary,

We the students and parents of your school know the Elm tree outside is better for our playground than another slide, and have decided not to stand for any changes on the playground that require any trees to be cut down. They are important because they provide air for us and are fun to climb. Please consider what the Elm does for us before you cutting it down

And the next day, the students got very good news from their teacher

After some very polite and informative emails from you and your parents, we have decided to keep the Elm!

Yaaaay!

And the kids played happily out at recess in their precious Elm tree! All because they used their voices and technology to fight for what they cared about

The End