One of my favorite aspects of Classical Conversations is that families can tailor the spine of the Foundations memory work to suit their style!
History and literature matchup lists are abundant, but science matchups are a bit more difficult to find, so we thought we would do the work for you!
(Speaking of work done for you, our hands-on science bundles are designed to match up with the weekly memory work. Check out the 21/22 School Year Bundle for our Cycle 1 matchup, and the 20/21 School Year Bundle for our Cycle 3 matchup – Cycle 2 coming soon!)
Here’s our massive list of Cycle 1 read aloud and living books divided by weeks.
Check out our blog for our BIG LISTS of general Biology and Earth Science resources. Want to try out one of our hands-on projects for free? We have tons of free samples on our website!
Week 1: Biology, Classifications of Living Things
“Karl, Get Out of the Garden: Carolus Linnaeus and the Naming of Everything,” by Anita Sanchez
“The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science,” by Joyce Sidman
“How Many Animals Were on the Ark: Understanding Animal Kinds,” by Answers in Genesis
“A Curious Collection of Peculiar Creatures: An Illustrated Encyclopedia,” by Sami Bayly
“Extinct: An Illustrated Exploration of Animals that have Disappeared,” by Phaidon Publishing
“Extinct: An Illustrated Exploration of Animals that have Disappeared,” by Phaidon Publishing
Week 2: Biology, Kingdoms of Living Things
“The Forest in the Tree: How Fungi Shape the Earth,” by Alisa Wild
“Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes,” by Nikola Davies
“Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth,” by Nikola Davies
“You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Bacteria,” by Roger Canavan
Week 3: Biology, Parts of an Animal Cell
“Christina Examines Plant and Animal Cells,” by Carole Marsh
“Animals by the Numbers,” by Steve Jenkins
Week 4: Biology, Parts of a Plant Cell
“Trees, Leaves, Flowers, and Seeds: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Plant Kingdom,” Smithsonian
“Magic School Bus Gets Planted”
“Nature All Around: Plants,” Pamela Hickman
Week 5: Biology, Major Groups of Invertebrates
“Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt,” by Kate Messner
“Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner,” by Janice Harrington
“Pet Bugs: A Kid’s Guide to Catching and Keeping Touchable Insects,” by Sally Kneidel
“This is a Book to Read with a Worm,” by Jodi Wheeler-Toppen
“Ultimate Bug-Opedia: The Most Complete Bug Reference Ever,” National Geographic Kids
Week 6: Biology, Major Groups of Vertebrates
“Animal! The Animal Kingdom as You’ve Never Seen it Before,” Smithsonian
“An Anthology of Intriguing Animals,” by DK
Usborne’s “First Encyclopedia of Animals”
National Geographic’s “Book of Animal Poetry”
“The Boy Who Drew Birds: The Story of James Audubon,” by Jacqueline Davies
Week 7: Biology, Animal reproduction
“Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones,” by Ruth Heller
“An Egg is Quiet,” by Dianna Hutts Aston
“Claude, the True Story of a White Alligator,” by Emma Bland Smith
“Joan Proctor Dragon Doctor: The Woman Who Loved Reptiles,” by Patricia Valdez
Week 8: Biology, Types of Seed Plants
“Trees, Leaves, Flowers, and Seeds: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Plant Kingdom,” Smithsonian
“Encyclopedia of Garden Plants for Every Location,” Smithsonian
“The Tree Book for Kids and their Grownups,” by Gina Ingoglia
Diane Burns’ “Take Along” guides for nature walks, including “Wildflowers, Blooms, and Blossoms,” and “Trees, Leaves, and Bark.”
“The Magic and Mystery of Trees,” by Jen Green
“Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John Appleseed Chapman,” by Esme Codell
Week 9: Biology, Parts of a Plant
“Trees: A Rooted History,” by Piotr Socha
“A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver,” by Aliki
“Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas,” by Cheryl Bardoe
“The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadev Payeng,” by Sophia Gholz
“Miss Rumphius,” by Barbara Cooney – A fictional tale, but a beloved classic.
Week 10: Biology, Leaf Shapes
“A Leaf Can Be,” by Laurie Salas
Diane Burns’ “Take Along” guides for nature walks, including “Wildflowers, Blooms, and Blossoms,” and “Trees, Leaves, and Bark.”
“Botany Illustrated,” by Janice Glimn Lacy
American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers
“The World Encyclopedia of Trees,” by Tony Russel
Week 11: Biology, Parts of a Flower
“The Big Book of Blooms,” by Yuval Zommer
“Bees: A Honeyed History,” by Piotr Socha
“Pick, Pull, Snap! Where Once a Flower Bloomed,” by Lola Schaefer
“You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Bees,” by Alex Woolf
Week 12: Biology, Plant Systems
“Because of an Acorn,” by Lola Schaefer
“Encyclopedia of Garden Plants for Every Location,” Smithsonian
“Botany Illustrated,” by Janice Glimn Lacy
“The Wonders of Nature,” by Ben Hoare
Week 13: Earth Science, Parts of the Geosphere
“Journey to the Center of the Earth,” by Jules Verne. A classic science fiction novel for Upper Elementary and older.
“Magic School Bus: Inside the Earth,” by Joanna Cole
“A Drop Around the World,” by Barbara McKinney
“Footprints in the Ash: The Explosive Story of Mount St. Helens,” by John Morris and Steven Austin
“The Ultimate Book of Planet Earth,” by Anne Sophie Baumann
Week 14: Earth Science, Kinds of Rock
“The Geology Book,” by John D Morris
“Big Book of Earth and Sky,” by Bodie Hodge
“Everything Rocks and Minerals,” National Geographic Kids
“My Awesome Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals: Track and Identify Your Treasures,” by Gary Lewis
“Julie the Rockhound,” by Gail Langer Karwoski
“A Rock is Lively,” by Dianna Hutts Aston
Week 15: Earth Science, Highest Mountains
“Christian Heroes Then and Now: Footprints Over the Mountains, Sundahr Singh,” by Janet and Geoff Benge.
“My Side of the Mountain,” by Jean George. A fictional work.
“Everest: The Remarkable Story of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay,” by Alexandra Stewart
“You Wouldn’t Want to Climb Mount Everest,” by Ian Graham
“World of Wonder: Mountains,” by Charlotte Guillain and Chris Madden
“Mountains,” by Seymour Simon
“Mighty Mount Kilimanjaro,” by Geronimo Stilton
Week 16: Earth Science, Kinds of Volcanoes
“Volcano and Earthquake,” DK Eyewitness
“Erupt!” National Geographic Kids
“I Survived: The Eruption of Mount St. Helens,” by Lauren Tarshis
“Vacation Under Volcano,” Magic Treehouse #13
Week 17: Earth Science, Parts of a Volcano
“The Magic School Bus Blows its Top”
‘Will it Blow? Become a Volcano Detective at Mount St. Helens,” by Elizabeth Rusch
“Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens,” by Patricia Lauber
“How Hot is Lava and Other Questions about Volcanoes,” by Kelly Smith
Week 18: Earth Science, Types of Ocean Floor
“The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor,” by Joanna Cole
“Otis and Will Discover the Deep,” by Barb Rosenstock
“Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep Sea Submersible Alvin,” by Michelle Cusolito
“Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea,” by Steve Jenkins
“Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharpe Maps the Ocean Floor,” by Robert Burleigh
“Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle,” by Claire Nivola
Week 19: Earth Science, Ocean Zones
“Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau,” by Jennifer Berne
“Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist,” by Jess Keating
“Secrets of the Sea: The Story of Jeanne Power, Revolutionary Marine Scientist,” by Evan Griffith
Week 20: Weather, Parts of the Atmosphere
“Air is All Around You,” by Franklyn Branley
“The Skies Above My Eyes,” by Charlotte Guillain
“Stickman’s Guide to the Earth’s Atmosphere in Layers,” by Catherine Chambers
“Weather Words and What They Mean,” Gail Gibbons
“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Reader’s Edition,” by William Kamkwamba
Week 21: Weather, Circles of Latitude
“The Librarian Who Measured the Earth,” by Kathryn Lasky
“The Equator,” by Todd Bluthenthal
“Extreme Places: The Hottest and the Coldest,” by Katie Marsico
“The Secret World of Weather: How to Read Signs in Every Cloud, Breeze, Hill, Street, Plant, Animal, and Dewdrop (Natural Navigation),” by Tristan Gooley
Week 22: Weather, Weather Fronts
“Snowflake Bentley,” by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
“The Storm Book,” by Charlotte Zolotow
“The Tornado Scientist: Seeing Inside Severe Storms,” by Mary Kay Carson
“The Big Storm,” by Bruce Hiscock
“Eric Sloane’s Book of Storms: Hurricanes, Twisters and Squalls,” by Eric Sloane
“Field Guide to Weather,” National Audubon Society
“See Inside Weather and Climate,” Usborne
Week 23: Weather, Types of Clouds
“The Man Who Named the Clouds,” by Julie Hanna and Joan Holub
“Next Time You See a Cloud,” by Emily Morgan
“Clouds,” by Anne Rockwell
“The Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm,” by Nancy White
“Thunder Cake,” by Patricia Polacco
“Cloud Dance,” by Thomas Locker
“Blizzard!” By Jim Murphy
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” by Judi Barrett
Week 24: Weather, Forecasting
“The Kid’s Book of Weather Forecasting,” by Mark Breen
“Secrets of the Seasons: Orbiting the Sun in our Backyard,” by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
“Weather Detectives,” by Mark Eubanks
“The Everything Kids Weather Book,” by Joe Snedeker
“Magic Tree House: Twister on Tuesday,” by Mary Pope Osborne
“On the Same Day in March: A Tour of the World’s Weather,” by Marilyn Singer
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