"Recycling means reusing paper and glass and aluminum over and over again." Mrs. Gonzalez returned to the front of the class and tapped the last poster. "And the final heading is what?" "Water Pollution," I read.

    Mrs. Gonzalez nodded. "Every living creature depends on water to survive. But our oceans and rivers are polluted by garbage, and much of the water we drink is being wasted. We need to keep it clean." Then she pointed to another poster. This one was completely blank.

    "Class, your assignment for this grade period is to pick one of these topics and design a project that can help to save our planet. We'll list them on this poster." Everyone began to talk at once, announcing which category they were going to choose. A couple of groans came from the back of the class but most of the students sounded pretty excited about our new project.

    The noise was so loud that Mrs. Gonzalez had to shout to make her last announcement heard. "You have one week to come up with an idea for your project and hand in a brief description of what you plan to do." The bell rang and she called, "See you tomorrow!" I gathered my books, keeping an eye on the posters at the front of the room. My brain was already clicking away. I spent the next hour thinking about ecology. (It's a good thing I was not called on in social studies, because my mind was not on the French Revolution.) With so many possibilities to choose from, I realized it was going to be hard to pick just one project.

    I decided to discuss the assignment with my friends at lunch. Claudia Kishi and Kristy Thomas were already seated at our regular table when I reached the cafeteria.