American History Read Alouds

Of all that I share here on this website, searching through books to develop our reading plans is what I spend the most time doing. My hope is to choose books that our family cherishes reading together (and your family cherishes as well, should you choose to use our reading plans!). Here I share our reading selections for next school year but acknowledge that there are a ton of other great works of literature to explore. This is our third time through a study of American history, so some of our read alouds have become a bit more advanced. We also have a rising high school student, so we’re starting out with a couple of the American literature selections that he will be studying within his curriculum in the coming year as well.

Our reading selections are meant to fulfill three changes that I desired to incorporate into our own homeschool:

1.  A wider variety of genres (other than just historical fiction, which is my usual default)
2.  A simpler schedule overall to emphasize science in our homeschool
3.  A fool-proof way to study art and music appreciation without overwhelming a non-artsy mama like me

Our family enjoys reading a lot of books together. If this list appears too ambitious, feel free to scale back and choose only the books you think would best fit your family. (If this list is not ambitious enough, we have additional books listed in our American History (Cycle 3) Reading Plans.) These books were reviewed and selected from recommended reading lists and sources such as A Thomas Jefferson Education, Sonlight, and Tapestry of Grace (among others).

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Read Aloud Selections First Semester:

• Witch of Blackbird Pond. Set in Colonial Connecticut in the late 1600s, this story follows the life of a young lady who suffers from disapproval and suspicion when she arrives to the colony. When she befriends a woman considered by the Puritan colonists to be a witch, she has to choose between her heart and her duty. A Challenge 1 book also on the Thomas Jefferson Education and Sonlight reading lists (among others).
• Johnny Tremain. After an apprenticed silversmith injures his hand in an accident, he becomes a messenger for the Sons of Liberty during the American Revolutionary War. Riveting novel involving the pivotal events shaping the American Revolution from the Boston Tea Party to the first shots fired at Lexington. A Challenge 1 book also on the Thomas Jefferson Education and Sonlight reading lists (among others).
• Once on this Island. When war erupts between England and America in 1812, it brings change even to Michigan’s remote Mackinac Island. When her father leaves Mackinac to join the army, she must tend the farm and deal with hardships of British occupation.
• Bound for Oregon. A pioneering family’s journey from their Arkansas home to unchartered Oregon Territory.
• Shades of Gray. Twelve-year-old Will Page deals with pain and bitterness at the conclusion of the Civil War but comes to realize he must rethink his definition of honor and courage when he goes to live with his uncle who he originally considers to be a traitor or coward.
• And perhaps over Christmas break: Little Women. (Paired with the picture book Louisa May’s Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Women.)

Read Aloud Selections Second Semester:

• Caddie Woodlawn. Set in the woods of Wisconsin during the Civil War, this story follows the real life antics of an adventurous young girl.
• In the Year of the Boar & Jackie Robinson.  A wonderful story about a lonely immigrant girl from China who finds inspiration and hope through Jackie Robinson (grandson of a slave), who proves that America truly is a land of opportunity.
• Remember the Lusitania. Chronicles the experience of three children who were on the fateful voyage of the Lusitania when a German U-boat torpedoed the ship off the coast of Ireland. “Their stories, taken from firsthand accounts, personal interviews, and historical documents, provide a riveting look at one of the most tragic and significant events of World War I.”
• House of Sixty Fathers.  The story of a young boy who gets separated from his family in China during the Japanese invasion and how American soldiers adopted him as he searched for his home and family. A deeply moving story, it can also be a bit too intense for young readers/listeners.
• Homer Price. A humorous look at small-town America. “Welcome to Centerburg! Where you can win a hundred dollars by eating all the doughnuts you want;  where houses are built in a day; and where a boy named Homer Price can foil four slick bandits using nothing but his wits and pet skunk. The comic genius of Robert McCloskey and his wry look at small-town America has kept readers in stitches for generations!”
• Cricket in Times Square. Chester Cricket accidentally ends up in New York City and befriends Tucker, a streetwise city mouse, his friend Harry Cat, and a boy named Mario, who rescues him to live in the safety of his parents’ newsstand. At first hoping to keep him as a pet, Mario soon discovers that this cricket has a special talent. A fun read!
• Charlotte’s Web.  Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. An endearing classic set on an American farm in the mid-20th century. It’s about time we share this together as a family!
• Journey to Bottomless Pit. Based on first-person accounts of those who toured the Mammoth Cave with him, this work of historical fiction takes readers through the life of the slave (Stephen Bishop) who explored and guided other through exploring this impressive natural wonder.

Visit this post for picture book selections.

Note: We usually read aloud our family read-aloud selections in the evenings after supper. The following are short readings and/or activities we do to jumpstart our school day.

Morning Time

Bible. We begin our days with reading a couple of chapters of the Bible each morning and discussing as a family. (Although we simply read through the Bible now, devotionals we’ve enjoyed in the past have included Grapevine Bible Studies, Hero Tales: A Family Treasury of True Stories from the Lives of Christian Heroes, and Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God .)

Geography. Our American History Reading Plan includes a schedule for working through learning to draw the USA from memory using Draw the USA by Kristin Draeger.

Memory Work. We follow our Memory Work Review Rotation schedule as provided in our free Cycle 3 Planners and American History Reading Plans.

Science. Our boys thoroughly enjoy Jay Wile’s Elementary Science Curriculum. The lessons are quick and interesting, the science experiments are simple and engaging (usually with items we have lying around the house), and it’s a great way for us to incorporate history into our science studies. In the past, our schedule has been too full for us to pursue science study to the extent that I would like. Since wisdom starts with wonder, this is one aspect of our homeschool I want to improve upon. These books feed into upper level science research strands (for classical learners) very well. This year we are studying Science in the Scientific Revolution, which includes many great activities for studying the human body.

Loop Schedule. Our loop schedule is how we touch on the “extras” that we’d like to incorporate but often let fall by the wayside. If you’ve never heard of a loop schedule, scroll down to the next section for a short description of what it is.

• Can You Hear It? by William Lach. This is, by far, the easiest art and music study I’ve ever planned. The book includes an audio CD with classical music which is paired up with a work of art for picture study.  The text of the book includes a few questions and things to listen for as the music is playing. Every other week we will listen and study one of the thirteen pictures. On alternating weeks, we will listen to the music a second time as we attempt to replicate the artwork.
• William Bennett’s Children’s Treasury of Virtues. This book includes legends, stories, tall tales, and poetry related to U.S. History. The Children’s Treasury of Virtues is a three-part book that includes Bennett’s earlier individual works aimed at young children:  The Children’s Book of Virtues, The Children’s Book of Heroes, and The Children’s Book of America. Our reading plan calls mainly upon reading selections from The Children’s Book of America. So, if the price skyrockets, search for each of the individual works (or just search for the Book of America to have the majority of the readings which correlate with U.S. History). Read more about this book and see pictures of the inside here. You can also download the reading correlations for Book of Virtues.
• Draw Write Now (Book 2, Book 3, and Book 5) or Draw and Write Through History (Pilgrims, Pirates, and Patriots and The 20th Century). I wanted to encourage my children to develop better drawing skills this year in preparation for Challenge A. Draw Write Now includes step-by-step drawing instructions for younger children or for those new to drawing. Draw and Write Through History is more advanced for upper elementary students.
• Presidential Pets: The Weird, Wacky, Little, Big, Scary, Strange Animals That Have Lived In The White House or Don’t Know Much About the Presidents. I wanted a way for us to read a little about each U.S. President throughout the year. Presidential Pets includes a clever poem about weird and wacky animals that have lived in the White House along with key facts for each President. Don’t Know Much About the Presidents includes concise and interesting tidbits that will engage young students. Humorous and informative, both of these are our top picks!

This loop schedule is part of our American History Reading Plans Packet.

What is a loop schedule?

Loop scheduling is just a way of planning. In a loop schedule, you cycle through subjects in a loop instead of doing them on a certain day each week. For example, in a normal block schedule, I can set aside Wednesday afternoons for nature study, Thursday afternoons for composer study, and Friday afternoons for art projects. But… if our schedule is interrupted due to unforeseen circumstances, we will either totally miss what we planned to do for a particular subject that week or have to double up the next week to “catch up.”

If I use a poetry-composer study-art loop schedule, we can cycle through those tasks without worrying about totally missing out on Art Friday, for example. If we don’t get around to art on Friday, we’ll just do it on Monday. Even though I making reading plans with assigned tasks for poetry, composer study, and art study each week, we often fall “behind schedule” because of things like illness, drama rehearsals, field trips, or Distractible Mom Syndrome. In this case, we just pick up where we left off the next day and don’t worry about not getting it finished on a particular day. See below for a comparison between block scheduling and loop scheduling.

Click here for our American History Reading Plans!

Other related posts:

American History Book of Virtues Correlation (Cycle 3)
American History Reading Plans from 3 years ago (Cycle 3)
Our American History Picture Book Selections (Cycle 3)
Our American History Booklist (Cycle 3)
American History Resources Page (free resources and activities for every subject of Cycle 3!)
American History Reading Plans
Western Civilization Study (fun way to study history with Cycle 3 tie-ins!). Download the Western Civilization Study Loop if you’re using the Western Civilization Study by Brimwood Press. If you aren’t, instead of using this plan you can simply read a couple of chapters per week out of a volume of SOTW.