Study Dot – 9.

by Jesse Steele (2018)
Purple does not only highlight vocabulary, but also important patterns. Sometimes, purple draws attention by what it does not highlight as much as by what it does.

Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, Antarctica, North America, South America

Will Dot go to Asia?

No, Dot will not go to Asia.

Will Dot go to Antarctica?

No, Dot will neither go to Asia nor Antarctica.

Will Dot go to Europe?

No, Dot will not go to Europe. He won't go to Asia or Antarctica either.

Will Dot go to North America?

No, Dot will not go to North America.

So, Dot won't go to Asia, Antarctica, or Europe. And, he won't go to North America either?

No, Dot won't go to any of those continents.

Will Dot go to South America?

South America and North America are also called the Americas.

It's their nickname, together.

Will Dot go to the Americas?

No, Dot won't go to either of the Americas.

Which continent will Dot go to?

Dot will either go to Africa or Australia. Can you figure out which continent Dot will go to?

I have no idea whether Dot will go to Africa or Australia. I could only guess.

Dot will go Down Under.

Where is Down Under?

Down Under is also a name for Australia! It's Australia's nickname.

Australia has a nickname too?

Yes, Australia's nickname is Down Under.


Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic, Arctic

The Pacific Ocean is the biggest ocean on Earth!

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-biggest.

The Indian Ocean is the third-biggest. It is just a little smaller than the Atlantic.

The Antarctic Ocean is the smallest ocean on Earth!

The Arctic Ocean is just a little bigger than the Antarctic.

The Arctic and Antarctic Oceans are the icy oceans at the top and bottom of Earth.

The Antarctic is on the bottom because the word is bigger and that makes it heavier. The Antarctic is the biggest word of all the five oceans!

The Pacific Ocean is between Asia and the Americas, also Australia because that's Down Under.

The Atlantic Ocean is between the Americas and Europe and Africa, but not Australia because that's Down Under.

The Indian Ocean is next to Africa and India. It's also next to Australia because that's Down Under.


Tokyo, Osaka, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Seoul, Pyongyang, Taipei, Tainan, Hanoi, Kolkata, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Berlin, Madrid, Prague, London, Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, Seattle, Puebla, Tijuana, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Jerusalem, Ankara, Dubai, Cairo, Johannesburg

Tokyo is in Japan, in Asia.

Osaka is also in Japan.

Shenzhen is in China, near Hong Kong.

Shanghai is also in China, farther north.

Seoul is in South Korea.

Pyongyang is in North Korea.

Taipei is in Taiwan.

Tainan is also in Taiwan.

Hanoi is in Vietnam.

Kolkata is in India.

Manila is in the Philippines, in Southeast Asia.

Singapore is also in Southeast Asia.

Kuala Lumpur is in Malaysia.

Berlin is in Germany, in Europe.

Madrid is in Spain.

Prague is in Czech.

Moscow is in Russia

Saint Petersburg is also in Russia.

London is in Great Britain.

Toronto is in Canada, in North America.

Vancouver is in Canada.

Chicago is in America.

Seattle is also in America.

Puebla is in Mexico.

Tijuana is also in Mexico.

Santiago is in Chile, in South America.

Buenos Aires is in Argentina.

Jerusalem is in Israel, in the Middle East.

Ankara is in Turkey.

Dubai is in the United Arab Emirates.

Cairo is in Egypt, in Africa.

Johannesburg is in South Africa.


Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres, Vesta, Kuiper Belt, solar system, sun, orbit, belt, planet, moon, ring, asteroid

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun.

Pluto is the farthest planet from the sun.

Ceres is a dwarf planet. So is Pluto.

There is an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Ceres is among the asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. It orbits the sun amid asteroids!

Jupiter is the largest planet. It is the largest planet in the solar system!

Saturn is the second-largest planet. It is not as big as Jupiter, but it almost is.

Venus is a little smaller than Earth.

Mars is much smaller than Venus.

Mercury is even smaller than Mars!

All the planets orbit the sun.

A moon orbits a planet.

Jupiter has four big moons, but many more smaller moons as well.

Saturn has big, beautiful rings.

Jupiter has a thin ring. Uranus and Neptune also have rings. But, Saturn's rings are the biggest in the solar system!

Uranus and Neptune are bigger than Earth, but smaller than Saturn. Both of them are blue and both have nice rings.

Uranus' rings go up and down. And, Uranus is light, light blue.

Uranus is closer to the sun than Neptune and it's just a little bigger too.

Jupiter's rings are perfectly flat. They are not easy to see.

Vesta is among the asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Vesta is a large asteroid, as big as a dwarf planet like Ceres and Pluto.

Pluto is in the Kuiper Belt.

The Kuiper Belt has asteroids and dwarf planets and more fun things we don't even know about!


Polaris, Sirius, Orion, Aldebaran, Pleiades, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Centauri System, Summer Triangle, Acrux, Southern Cross, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, Milky Way, red giant, supergiant, star system, constellation, galaxy, universe

Polaris is the North Star. It is always in the north, and it doesn't move. (Not much, anyway.)

Polaris helps sailors to know where they are going because it always points North.

Sirius is the brightest star in the sky!

Pleiades is a constellation, also called the Seven Sisters.

Pleiades has seven bright stars, but thousands of others in the star cluster.

Aldebaran is a bright red giant star between Pleiades and Orion. It is in the Taurus constellation.

Orion is another constellation. So is the Summer Triangle.

Betelgeuse is Orion's upper shoulder. It is the tenth brightest star in the sky.

Rigel is Orion's left foot, opposite Betelgeuse. Rigel is the seventh brightest star in the sky!

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant. Rigel is a blue supergiant.

Rigel is brighter than Betelgeuse, but Betelgeuse is much, much larger.

Betelgeuse is bigger than Jupiter's orbit!

Rigel is just a little smaller than Mercury’s orbit.

The Summer Triangle has Deneb, Vega, and Altair. They each have their own constellations.

Proxima Centauri is the closest star to Earth. It has a star system.

binary star system has two stars.

The Centauri System has Proxima Centauri plus two binary star systems: Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. So, that's five stars total!

The Alpha Centauri system has Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B.

The Beta Centauri system has Beta Centauri A and Beta Centauri B.

The Centauri System is the closest star system to Earth.

Rigel is actually a quadruple star system! It’s a star system with three other stars, which are very small.

Acrux is the brightest star in the Southern Cross.

The Southern Cross is another constellation. It is in the Southern Hemisphere.

The North Star is in the Northern Hemisphere.

The North Star and the Southern Cross are in different hemispheres.

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, you can't see the Southern Cross.

If you are in the Southern Hemisphere, you can't see the North Star.

Earth's galaxy is the Milky Way.

One galaxy has billions of stars!

The universe has billions of galaxies!