Summary
A Ready Jet Go! clip on PBS LearningMedia. The kids figure out why Pluto is called a 'dwarf planet' and not a full planet — it is too small to clear the space around its orbit. A clear, kid-friendly look at why Pluto changed categories.
Viewer safety
All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
Pluto used to be a planet — find out why scientists changed their minds.
- What is a dwarf planet?
- Why isn't Pluto counted as a full planet anymore?
- Who decides how we sort planets?
- Is it okay for scientists to change their ideas? Why?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: Pluto, dwarf planet, orbit, sort, scientist.
Try it: Draw Pluto and one of the eight planets. Make Pluto smaller to show the difference.