This will be my first year incorporating something extra for our Classical Conversations CC Cycle 3 history plans.
The last two years, we focused on the memory work and it was plenty for our ages – and my own sanity.
This year, I will have a 7 year old and a 5 year old.
That being said, I’m not adding a lot to the plate, just a bit.
With it being America’s 250th birthday this year, it just feels fun to add a bit more than memorization.
So without further ado, here are my 2026 CC Cycle 3 history plans for our year.
CC Cycle 3 History Supplements
Our Star Spangled Story by Notgrass
The first read-aloud I am adding to our history this year is Our Star Spangled Story by Notgrass.
I know this is a full curriculum on it’s own, but I plan to use it strictly as a read aloud. And, I’ve already started.
My thought is that over the summer, I will introduce these stories to my kids with the hope that it will help them a bit with engaging with the memory work.
We’ve already read all of Part 1 and have started Part 2.
I am going through this quickly, as it is *just* a read-aloud and this summer we are really focusing on reading/finding the love of story-telling.
I am bookmarking every story that has to do with our CC Cycle 3 history memory work so that, when the time comes throughout the year, I can re-read the stories to them.
There are 8 weeks where there isn’t a good lineup for Our Star Spangled Story with our CC history sentence so I will read something else those weeks.
I also plan to do some of the activities in the Our Star Spangled Story as energy and time permits.
Handwriting + History
The second extra we are adding to our CC Cycle 3 history work is a cursive handwriting practice and coloring page that I found on CC Connected.
Here is where I got the file (make sure you are signed into CCConnected first): Cycle 3 History Sentence Coloring sheet with Cursive Tracework – All Weeks (5th Edition)
My kids are ready to learn cursive. We’ve been practicing for a few months, so I am loving that I can get away with doing handwriting while learning our history grammar.
My plan is to listen to the history song 7x while my kids trace the words and color the page. They can then continue coloring while I read Our Star Spangled Story to them.
Videos and/or Books
I also plan to add in some video and/or picture books/early readers into the mix here and there.
The videos are all from Liberty Kids or Tuttle Twins which you can find on YouTube for free!
This will likely be highly dependent on all of our energy levels and whether or not my kids seem interested in the topic to dive deeper.
I plan to do the chapter books during our read aloud time. That way, things are spaced out during the day.
We also naturally just have a lot of breaks in our day with ages 5 and 7.
They have made huge improvements in their ability to follow along when I read aloud. It’s been such an answered prayer because if you saw these children trying to follow a story even six months ago, you’d never expect them to be where they are now!
So, if you have a child who doesn’t want to pay attention, just read anyway. My kids typically do other things when I read but sometimes they cuddle up next to me on the couch, too.
Putting It All Together
Here are some ideas for each week of Cycle 3 History. Use what you love and have the energy for and skip the rest!
Week 1 Columbus: Our Star Spangled Story Part 1 pp. 16-21 and CCConnected handwriting. There are lots we could do this week but I’d personally like to start off slow.
Week 2 Pilgrims: Our Star Spangled Story Part 1 pp. 24-29, CCConnected handwriting, and Problems in Plymouth by Marianne Hering and Marshal Younger.
Week 3 Boston Tea Party: Our Star Spangled Story Part 1 pp. 70-75 and activity on page 88, CCConnected handwriting, and Liberty Kids episode 101 The Boston Tea Party.
Week 4 Declaration of Independence: Our Star Spangled Story Part 1 pp. 96-101, CCConnected handwriting, Liberty Kids episode 113 The First Fourth of July, and Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin.
Week 5 George Washington: Our Star Spangled Story Part 1 pp. 110-115 and activity on page 128, CC Connected handwriting, Liberty Kids episode 111 Washington Takes Command, and A Picture Book of George Washington by David A. Adler.
Week 6 Louisiana Purchase: Our Star Spangled Story Part 1 pp. 136-141, CCConnected handwriting, A Picture Book of Davy Crockett by David A. Adler, and How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer.
Week 7 Monroe Doctrine: While Our Star Spangled Story includes the War of 1812, it doesn’t mention the Monroe Doctrine so I may skip reading from it this week, CCConnected handwriting, If You Lived with the Cherokee by Connie and Peter Roop, and Prairie Town by Bonnie Geisert.
Week 8 Missouri Compromise: CCConnected handwriting and Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine.
Week 9 Southern states: CCConnected handwriting and Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman by Monica Kulling.
Week 10 Manifest Destiny: CCConnected handwriting and If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon by Ellen Levine.
Week 11 Civil War: There are a few lessons on the Civil War in Our Star Spangled Story but I plan to read pages 272-277 in Part 1, plus show the map on page 265, CCConnected handwriting, and Freedom at the Falls by Marianne Hering and Sheila Seifert.
Week 12 General Robert E. Lee: CCConnected handwriting and Willie McLean and the Civil War Surrender by Candice Ransom.
Week 13 Fourteenth Amendment: Our Star Spangled Story Part 1 pp. 280-285, CCConnected handwriting, and Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet.
Week 14 tycoons: CCConnected handwriting and The Man Who Loved Libraries: The Story of Andrew Carnegie by Andrew Larsen.
Week 15 immigrants: Our Star Spangled Story Part 2 pp. 336-342, CCConnected handwriting, and When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest.
Week 16 WWI: Our Star Spangled Story Part 2 pp. 396-401, CCConnected handwriting, and Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion by Chris Barton.
Week 17 Nineteenth Amendment: CCConnected handwriting and If You Lived When Women Won Their Rights by Anne Kamma.
Week 18 Pearl Harbor: Our Star Spangled Story Part 2 pp. 450-455, CCConnected handwriting, and Escape to the Hiding Place by Marianne Hering.
Week 19 NATO: Our Star Spangled Story Part 2 pp. 496-501, CCConnected handwriting, and Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot by Margot Theis Raven.
Week 20 Brown v. Board of Education: Our Star Spangled Story Part 2 pp. 502-507, and The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles.
Week 21 U.S. astronauts: Our Star Spangled Story Part 2 pp. 522-528 and activity on page 529, CCConnected handwriting, and Look to the Stars by Buzz Aldrin.
Week 22 9/11: Our Star Spangled Story Part 2 pp. 592-597 and activity on page 610, CCConnected handwriting, and The Little Chapel That Stood by A. B. Curtiss.
Week 23 Preamble to U.S. Constitution: Our Star Spangled Story Part 1 pp. 102-107, CCConnected handwriting, and Liberty Kids episode 140 We the People.
Week 24 Bill of Rights: CCConnected handwriting and the Tuttle Twins clip about the Bill of Rights, found here: YouTube Tuttle Twins
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