CHARLOTTE MASON FORM 3

LIVING BOOKS AND SUPPLIES FOR GRADES 7-8

Form 3 roughly corresponds with grades 7-8 of the U.S. school system. Students ages in Form 3 can span from age 11 through age 15. 

Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Form 3 Guide - Grades 7-8For more information about Form 3, or to plan your own custom curriculum, see the CM Your Way Curriculum Form Guide for Form 3.

Or, for more information about Forms in general, see Understanding Forms in a Charlotte Mason Education.

Living Books for Form 3 Students (Grades 7-8)

Please use the religious texts applicable to your family’s faith and denomination. 

If you are not a religious family, see World Religions & Philosophies below.

Christianity

Judaism

Saviour of the World – poetry written by Charlotte Mason

World Religions & Philosophies

If you are not a religious family, feel free to replace with books about world religions or spiritual stories. 
If you are starting with an older student, feel free to also choose books from the Form 2 World Religions category.
Elements such as character building, virtues, and morality are woven into many other subjects, especially Literature, History, and Citizenship.
You can also wait and add a study of world religions during the high school years.

 

Literature for Form 3 Students (Grades 7-8)

  • If your student hasn’t read King Arthur yet, now is the time to do that!
  • Be sure your student reads a retelling of Beowulf as well.
  • Before high school, be sure your student has a good foundation of Greek and Norse mythology (see Mythology section).
  • Choose other literature based on your historical time period or your student’s interest.

Mythology for Form 3 Students (Grades 7-8)

  • If you are starting the CM method with an older student, please look at the Greek Mythology choices in Form 2.
  • If your student has had a good foundation in Greek and Norse Mythology, and Arthurian Legend, feel free to choose from another category such as world mythology or Native American mythology.
  • Bulfinch’s Mythology was essential reading in CM’s schools, but it can be delayed until High School if needed.

Greek Mythology

Norse Mythology

Other Mythology

Poetry for Form 3 Students

Anthologies

Themed Anthologies

Individual Poets

Individual Poets

Audiobooks

TIP: Audiobooks are a great way to listen to poetry

Additional Living Books for Free Reading for Form 3 Students

Living History Books for Form 3 Students (Grades 7-8)

American History Options

There aren’t a lot of living book options for Middle School History, so my pick is The Story of the Thirteen Colonies and The Great Republic by H.A. Guerber, which isn’t my favorite choice, but it is currently in-print. 

I list my absolute favorite books for Middle School History in the Curriculum Form Guide for Form 3, but because they are all out-of-print and hard to find., I do not list them here.

Options for British History

Any of the books listed here can be used as a History Spine for a second history stream focused on British History.

Charlotte used Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall for her Form 1 students, but I think it still works wonderfully for Form 2 and even Form 3 students, especially since it is used as a secondary history stream. It is beautifully narrative and a wonderful way to learn British history.

If you feel that your student needs a more challenging book for British History, you might want to choose A History of England by H.O. Arnold-Forster. Charlotte used this book for students in Form 2 and Form 3.

Options for World History

If you’d rather focus on World History, any of the books listed here can be used as a World History Spine.
Alternatively, you could also spend a year or two in Form 3 studying your state’s history instead of British or World History.

Charlotte used The Story of Mankind by Van Loon for her Form 3 students.

Options for Ancient History

Any of the books listed here can be used as a History Spine for a third history stream focused on Ancient History.

Form 3 students did not study Ancient History, but if your student has not studied Ancient Greek or Roman history yet, I would advise adding that as a third stream of history (as was done in Form 2).

History through Biographies & Events

These books are good examples of books you could use instead of or in addition to the spines listed above.
More books will be added in the coming weeks…

Early American History

American Revolution

American Revolution

Civil War

20th Century

Historical Fiction

These books are good examples of books you could use for History Tales / Historical Fiction.

Early American History

American Revolution

1790-1850

Civil War

20th Century

Other Books & Things I Love for Form 3 Students

These are good examples of books you can use as supplements or just for fun!

Living Geography Books for Form 3 Students (Grades 7-8)

Adventure North (2016) and Canoeing with the Cree (1930) both remind me of a real-life Paddle to the Sea type of an adventure story.  The authors of Adventure North also have a podcast in which they describe each day of their journey to listeners. (Please note that the 1930 book Canoeing with the Cree does have some racial comments.)

Chasing Shackleton (2014) is a real-life recreation of Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 expedition to the South Pole. The PBS show is that goes with it is outstanding.

Richard Halliburton’s Book of Marvels (1937) is one of my son’s favorite geography books. Please note there are some slight racial comments.

Other Books I Love for Form 3 Geography

Citizenship Books for Form 3 Students (Grades 7-8)

  • Form 3 students began reading Charlotte’s fourth volume: Ourselves
  • They also used a Classical Dictionary as a help for reading Plutarch (but if you are using The Plenary’s Plutarch Study Guides, a Classical Dictionary is not needed because the annotations and definitions are already provided for you in the margins.)
  • If you have not studied Plutarch before, please begin with Stories from the History of Rome by Beesly.
  • Students also read a specialized book about government.
Introduction to Plutarch
Plutarch’s Lives: Roman
Plutarch’s Lives: Greek
American Government
Ourselves by Charlotte Mason

Living Science Books for Form 3 Students (Grades 7-8)

Any of the books listed here can be used as a Science book for Form 3

Biology – Botany

Biology – Other

Earth Science

Chemistry

Physics

Secrets of the Universe series by Paul Fleisher

Physics

Nature Lore Books for Form 3 Students (Grades 7-8)

Dallas Lore Sharp series

Usborne Science Books

These books are good examples of books you can use as experiment books, reference books, or “just for fun” books!

Other Books and Things for Form 3 Students

These books are good examples of books you can use for special studies, supplements to the books above, or just for fun. 

Videos that accompany The Chemical History of a Candle book

Science Supplies for You and Your Form 3 Student

Supplies and fun things for you and your student!

N.C. Wyeth

N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) was an American artist who was known for his illustrations in many children’s books published by Scribner’s.

Johannes Vermeer

Vermeer (1632-1675) was a Dutch artist of the Baroque period. He is known for his domestic scenes of middle-class life.

More options coming soon…

My first choice for Latin in Forms 2 and 3 is Lively Latin. Start with Book 1, then move on to Book 2. Both books should last 2+ years each, so this program will overlap both Form 2 and 3. It comes with an audio option and an online option. And it’s fun!

More options coming soon…

More options coming soon…

More options coming soon…

More options coming soon…

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