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 School Year Pack 2 for our Cycle 2 matchup. (We also offer a School Year Pack 1 Cycle 1 matchup, and School Year Pack 3 for our Cycle 3 matchup).
Here’s our massive list of Cycle 2 read aloud and living books divided by CC weeks.
Want to try out one of our hands-on projects for free? We have tons of free samples on our website!
Week 1: Ecology, Days of Creation, definition of ecology
“Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an Ecosystem,” by Jude Isabella
“Where is the Great Barrier Reef”
“Welcome to the Neighborhood,” by Shawn Sheehy
“Ecology: The Study of Ecosystems,” by Susan Gray
“Coral Reefs,” by Gail Gibbons
“What If There Were No Lemmings? A Book about the Tundra Ecosystem,” by Suzanne Slade
“Over and Under the Pond,” by Kate Messner
Week 2: Ecology, land biomes
“Seek and Find Biomes,” by Jorrien Peterson
“A Walk in the Prairie,” and other books in the “Biomes of North America” series by Rebecca Johnson
“The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World’s Largest Land Biome,” by L.E. Carmichael
“Tundra Biomes Around the World,” and other books in the “Exploring Earth’s Biomes” series, by Phillip Simpson
“Many Biomes: One Earth,” by Sneed Collard III
“The Coldest Tundra,” by Baby Professor
“Inside Ecosystems and Biomes,” by Debra Housel
Week 3: Ecology, Types of consumers
“A Caribou Journey,” by Debbie Miller
“Hungry Coyote,” by Cheryl Blackford
“Oopik: Travels of a Snowy Owl,” by Bruce Hiscock
“Ultimate Predator-pedia,” by National Geographic
“The Animal Book,” by Smithsonian
“Atlas of Animal Adventures,” by Emily Hawkins
Week 4: Ecology, Parts of the food chain
“Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds: The Story of a Food Web,” by Victoria Crenson
“Butternut Hollow Pond,” by Brian Heinz
The Food Chain Reaction series by Suzanne Slade follows four different ecosystems and asks “What if There Were No Bees?” and “What if There Were No Wolves?” among other titles.
“The Wondrous Workings of our Earth: Understanding our World and its Ecosystems,” by Rachel Ignotofsky
“Secrets of the Garden: Food Webs and Food Chains in our Backyard,” by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
“Here is the Coral Reef,” Web of Life series. This 7-book series explores a variety of ecosystems, by Madeleine Dunphy
Week 5: Ecology, Cycles in nature
“Exploring the Elements,” by Isabel Thomas
“Life Cycles,” by DK
“The Great Big Water Cycle Adventure,” by Kay Barnham
“The Ultimate Book of Planet Earth,” by Anne-Sophie Baumann
“Fun Facts about Nitrogen : Chemistry for Kids The Element Series,” by Baby Professor
“Earth: The Illustrated Geography of our World,” by Susan Martineau
“A Drop Around the World: The Science of Water Cycles,” by Barbara Shaw McKinney
Week 6: Ecology, Animal adaptation
“Going Home: The Mystery of Animal Migration,” by Marianne Berkes
“Atlas of Animal Adventures: A collection of nature’s most unmissable events, epic migrations and extraordinary behaviours,” by Rachel Williams
“Atlas of Ocean Adventures: A Collection of Natural Wonders, Marine Marvels and Undersea Antics from Across the Globe,” by Emily Hawkins
“Tiny Bird: A Hummingbird’s Amazing Journey,” by Robert Burleigh
“National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America,” by Jonathan Alderfer
“Amazing Animal Journeys,” by Chris Packham
State-by-state bird identification guides by Stan Tekiela
“The Peregrine’s Journey: A Story of Migration,” by Madeleine Dunphy
Week 7: Ecology, Pollution
“The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadev Payeng,” by Sophia Gohlz
“One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of Gambia,” by Miranda Paul
“Fish: A Tale about Ridding the Ocean of Plastic Pollution,” by Brendan Kearney
Week 8: Ecology, Aquatic biomes
“A Voice for the Everglades: Marjory Stoneman Douglas,” by Vicki Conrad
“Song of the Water Boatman and other Pond Poems,” by Joyce Sidman and Beckie Prange
“Song of the Wetlands: Voice of the Redwing,” by Tish McFadden
“Over and Under the Pond,” by Kate Messner
“Ocean Anatomy,” by Julia Rothman
“Fun in the Mud: A Wetlands Tale,” by Sally Bolger
“At the Marsh in the Meadow,” by Jeanie Mebane
“Over the Wetlands: A Hurricane on the Bayou Story,” by Caroline Starr Rose
Week 9: Astronomy, Parts of the sun
“The Sun,” by Seymour Simon
“Barefoot Books Solar System,” by Anne Jankeliowitch
“The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System,” by Joanna Cole
“Dr. Maggie’s Grand Tour of the Solar System,” by Maggie Aderin-Pocock
“The Astronomy Book: Wonders of Creation,” by Jonathan Henry
“Sun,” by Steve Tomecek
“Always Looking Up: Nancy Grace Roman, Astronomer,” by Laura Gehl
“Solar System: By the Numbers,” by Steve Jenkins
Week 10: Astronomy, Planets
“The Planets,” by Gail Gibbons
“50 Things to See with a Telescope,” by John Read
“The Girl Who Named Pluto: The Story of Venetia Burney,” by Alice McGinty
“When is a Planet Not a Planet: The Story of Pluto,” by Elaine Scott
“Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future Young Readers’ Edition,” by Ashlee Vance
“Astronomy for Kids: How to Explore Outer Space with Binoculars, a Telescope, or Just Your Eyes!” By Dr. Bruce Betts
“The Planets: A Smithsonian Visual Guide,” by Robert Dinwiddie
“The Mysteries of the Universe,” by Will Gater
Week 11: Astronomy, Phases of the Moon
“The Moon Book,” by Gail Gibbons
“Destination Moon: The Spiritual and Scientific Voyage of the Eighth Man to Walk on the Moon,” James Irwin
“Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson,” by Katherine Johnson
“Hidden Figures, Young Readers Edition,” by Margot Lee Shetterly
“How We Got to the Moon,” by John Rocco
“Trailblazers: Neil Armstrong,” by Alex Woolf
“Views from Above: An Astronaut Photographs the World,” by Terry Virts and Buzz Aldrin
“If You Had Your Birthday Party on the Moon,” by Joyce Lapin
Week 12: Astronomy, Other solar system bodies
“Astronaut Scott Kelly: My Journey to the Stars,” by Scott Kelly
“Visual Galaxy: The Ultimate Guide to the Milky Way and Beyond,” by National Geographic
“The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide,” by Terence Dickenson
Usborne’s “The Ultimate Book of Space”
“Star Finder: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Night Sky,” by DK
“What We See in the Stars: An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky,” by Kelsey Oseid
Guide to the Stars constellations chart, by Ken Graun
National Audubon Society’s “Field Guide to the Night Sky”
“The Boy Whose Head was Filled with Stars: The Life of Edwin Hubble,” by Isabelle Marinov
Week 13: Astronomy, Space missions
“The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity,” by Elizabeth Rusch
“The Work of His Hands: A View of God’s Creation from Space,” by Colonel Jeffery Williams
“Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet,” by Buzz Aldrin and Marianne Dyson
“Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover,” by Markus Motum
Week 14: Physics, States of matter
“Matter: Physical Science for Kids,” by Andi Diehn
“My First Book about Physics,” by Patricia J. Wynne
“Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom,” by Teresa Robeson
“Physics for Curious Kids,” by Laura Baker
“A Drop Around the World: The Science of Water Cycles,” by Barbara Shaw McKinney
“Matter Matters,” by Tom Adams
“Changing Matter,” by Tracy Maurer
“Physics: Why Matter Matters,” by Dan Green
Week 15: Physics, Energy
“Energy: Physical Science for Kids,” by Andi Diehn
“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” by William Kamkwamba and Brian Mealer. The Young Readers edition is an inspiring read aloud option that combines personal triumph with scientific discovery.
Usborne’s “Illustrated Dictionary of Physics“
Week 16: Physics, Laws of motion
“The Gravity Tree,” by Anna Rowling
“Newton’s Rainbow: The Revolutionary Discoveries of a Young Scientist,” by Kathryn Lasky
“The Book of Big Science Ideas: From Atoms to AI and from Gravity to Genes… How 15 Big Ideas and more than 50 Big Thinkers Changed our World,” by Freya Hardy
“The Physics Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained,” by DK
“Giants of Science: Isaac Newton,” by Kathleen Krull
“Lives of the Scientists: Experiments, Explosions, and What the Neighbors Thought,” by Kathleen Krull
“Isaac Newton: The Scientist Who Changed Everything,” National Geographic Kids
“The Ocean of Truth: The Story of Sir Isaac Newton,” by Joyce McPherson
Week 17: Physics, Laws of motion, force
“Eyewitness Force and Motion,” DK
“The Magic School Bus Plays Ball: A Book about Forces,” by Joanna Cole
“Newton and Me,” by Lynne Mayer
“You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Gravity,” by Anne Rooney
“Feel the Force,” by Tom Adams
“Newtonian Physics for Babies,” by Chris Ferrie
“High-Speed Thrills: Acceleration and Velocity (The Science Behind Thrill Rides),” by Nathan Lepora
“Fly to Mars! Forces in Space,” by Louise Spilsbury
Week 18: Physics, Laws of motion
“Forces: Physical Science for Kids,” by Andi Diehn
“Projectile Science: The Physics Behind Kicking a Goal and Launching a Rocket,” by Matthew Brenden Wood
“Pushes and Pulls,” by Sharon Coan
“Investigating Forces and Motion,” by Jane Weir
“Forces Make Things Move,” by Kimberly Bradley
“Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion,” by Eileen Coates
“Isaac Newton: Famous English Scientist,” by Anne Marie Sullivan
Week 19: Physics, Laws of thermodynamics
“The Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short Introduction,” by Peter Atkins
“How Heat Moves,” by Sharon Coan
“Energy Animated,” by Tyler Jordan
“Energy: Physical Science for Kids,” by Andi Diehn
“Energy,” DK Eyewitness
Week 20: Physics, Laws of thermodynamics
“Sound, Heat, and Light: Energy at Work,” by Melvin Berger
“The Magic School Bus in the Arctic: A Book about Heat,” by Anne Schreiber
“My First Book About Engineering,” by Patricia J. Wynne
“Super Simple Physics: The Ultimate Bitesize Study Guide,” by DK
“The Physics of Everyday Things: The Extraordinary Science Behind the Ordinary Day,” by James Kakalios
Week 21: Physics, Laws of thermodynamics
“Antarctica: A Continent of Wonder,” by Mario Cuesta Hernando
“The Endurance: Shackleton’s Perilous Expedition in Antarctica,” by Meredith Hooper
“Up on Denali: Alaska’s Wild Mountain,” by Shelley Gill
“Melting and Freezing,” by Lisa Greathouse
Week 22: Physics, Light
“Light Waves,” by David Adler
“Flash and Gleam: Light in Our World,” by Sue Fliess
“The Lights that Dance in the Night,” by Yuval Zommer
“Let’s Make a Rainbow: The Science of Light and Optical Physics for Kids,” by Chris Ferrie
“Lights Day and Night: The Science of How Light Works” by Susan Hughes
“The Magic School Bus Gets a Bright Idea: A Book About Light,” by Nancy White
“Claude Monet: He Saw the World in Brilliant Light,” by Amy Guglielmo
Week 23: Physics, Heat flow
“Differences of Conduction, Convection, and Radiation,” by Baby Professor
“Heat,” by Ian F. Mahaney
“Heat: The Energy that Warms Us,” by Jennifer Boothroyd
“The Science of Heat,” by Angela Royston
“Burn: Michael Faraday’s Candle,” by Darcy Pattison
“Heat Wave,” by Eileen Spinelli
“How Conductors Work,” by Victoria G. Christensen
“Science Storybooks: Where’s the Heat Thief,” by Min Soo-Kwak
Week 24: Physics, Electricity
“Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos,” by Robert Lawson
“A Ben of All Trades: The Most Inventive Boyhood of Benjamin Franklin,” by Michael Rosen
“What’s the Big Idea Ben Franklin?” By Jean Fritz
“A Life Electric: The Story of Nikola Tesla,” by Azadeh Westergaard
“Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World,” by Elizabeth Rusch
“The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip,” by Joanna Cole
“Oscar and the Bird: A Book About Electricity,” by Geoff Waring
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