What Is the Difference Between a Meteor, a Meteoroid, and a Meteorite?

Imagine you're playing with marbles in a room. A meteoroid is like one of the marbles floating through space. When it enters Earth’s atmosphere, it becomes a meteor, glowing bright as it burns up from friction, like when you rub your hands together and they get hot. If that marble hits the ground and stays there, it's now a meteorite. So, a meteoroid is in space, a meteor is what you see in the sky, and a meteorite is what lands on Earth.