Classical Conversations Cycle 1 Science Weekly Matchups

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

Peterson Field Guides

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 

Where is Mount Everest

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” 

What Was Pompeii?

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

Who Was Jacques Cousteau” 

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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