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Throughout school, I have been taught that Pluto was a planet, but several years ago this claim was no longer valid. How would you bring up this controversial topic in your class? Do you agree or disagree with Pluto's status?

I think that showing Pluto has lost it's status is a great way to show that science is ever changing. I would bring up the topic by explaining just that. I would also explain what gives planets their status and what factors led to it losing its status. I do agree with Pluto's status, because I think that science classifications can change.

I agree, the one thing that we want students to understand is that science is always changing. When I was growing up I learned that Pluto a planet, mostly from The Magical School Bus, but that its classification has changed.

Once upon a time there were 11 planets.... This article discusses how the major main belt asteroids were first considered planets, before being reclassified as a new type of object - asteroids. The reorganization of the solar system recognizing a new classification (dwarf planet) is nothing new, but shows the evolving nature of science. http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/minorplanets.php

Using phrases like 'science is ever-changing' or the 'ever-evolving nature of science' is probably not the best way to describe it.  The problem is that there are many people who think that what scientists say is merely speculation and therefore likely to be wrong -- hence science always changes.

But that's not it at all.  What happens is that. over time, we learn more.  In this case, it was our learning more about trans-Neptunian objects (i.e., dwarf planets) that led to an improvement in our classification system.  

That science is always changing is not the point.  The point is that science is always advancing.

Matt

Many student say that they hate science. I get very puzzled face when they say things like that. I say " your life is science and that means that you hate everything around you". Then I get all types of responses. I see this as a teachable moment to teach science. Students are not getting science in elementary school like they should so they have know desire to love science until they get to my class and then all of a sudden I love science.

Matt, I really appreciate your suggestion for phrasing, ie- science is always advancing not always changing. I believe that suggesting that science is constantly changing may cause students to believe that the principles of science, rather than our understandings of observed phenomena, are subject to flux.

I definitely agree with the rephrasing suggestion and believe that new scientific discoveries such as those that led to Pluto's current classification, serve as great examples for explaining to children how science is always advancing, rather than changing.

I would definitely explain to my students that Pluto was once a planet. This would create a good discussion about how scientist discover new evidence all the time. You could also show them other examples of how science is always progressing.

I learned that pluto was a planet as well. Since the students now are learning that it is not maybe you should introduce it but make sure that they understand that it is no longer a planet.

Matt, WOW!! Your intellect definitely allows for a higher level of thinking. I like the way you handle your words, which helps to increase critical thinking skills as we are asking questions. Thanks for sharing such great information on how it is we are asking or exploring questions to create conversations with our young learners. ~Michelle

Well Science is always advancing. New things are being discovered and advancing as the days go by. I think it would be great to show students just that. So they can also know that science is always advancing. I would also tell students what characteristics makes a planet. I would also include what scientists discovered that made Pluto not a planet anymore. It is important to teach students how science is advancing over time and how things are always changing over time. It is a great discussion to have with students.

Hi Farah! I think that bringing up the topic about Pluto no longer be considered a planet would be a very good topic to discuss with students. Allow them the opportunity to discuss and tell them about both sides of the topic and allow them to think critically about it. You can have students participate in a debate and do research on the side they choose. "Should Pluto be considered a planet or not?" This should be the investigative question that helps students to begin thinking about it.

The controversial topic of Pluto of not being a planet anymore is an excellent topic to discuss with students. It allows students to come up with reasons on why Pluto is no longer classified as a planet. One way to discuss Pluto’s classification in class is by comparing the eight planets of our solar system with Pluto. Students could create a chart together about the different characteristics of each planet and compare them to Pluto. Since Pluto was a part of the outer planets then Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune’s characteristics could be compared to Pluto. From there students could see if there are any differences between them. I do agree that Pluto is not considered a planet anymore because Pluto’s characteristics do not resemble the outer planets characteristics. The inner planets have roughly the same features and the outer planets also have the same features. This shows that science will always be advancing.

I always enjoy reading Matt's thoughts. And Matt is correct, Pluto's status is not controversial - at least for scientists. And Matt's clarification that science is always advancing as scientists learn more is a really important aspect of the process of science. There is another aspect of this issue that I think is also important to understand. That thing that we call Pluto is not intrinsically Pluto, nor is it intrinsically a dwarf planet. We name things and classify them to organize our knowledge and aid communication. As our knowledge advances we sometimes have to reclassify. This has been going on in biology increasingly because of DNA sequencing and analysis. Organisms that were classified together because of physical similarities have been found to be much more dissimilar at the genetic level and are therefore reclassified to reflect new knowledge and understanding. Naming and classifying is a human operation and doesn't dictate what a thing is - just how we think about it and how we relate it relate it to other things.