American History Family Movies that Kids Enjoy During CC Cycle 3

Our kids love to watch movies, so this year we started something new. Every Friday night is “Pizza Popcorn and a Movie Night”!

In the past I often felt frustrated when choosing a movie on the spot. I wanted to be intentional with what we watched—even if it was just something as simple as being prepared with a few questions to ask the kids afterwards that connected a character virtue they witnessed.

In an effort to find purposeful family movies that coordinated with the character virtues and American History we are studying in Classical Conversations Cycle 3, I made a list and planned the movies for our entire year. It is great to now feel prepared and intentional, even if I don’t follow the movie nights exactly.

Most of these movies are found on Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube or FREE through our local library online digital service, Hoopla.

FYI there are tons of other great movies to watch on the history sentences, but those are in my history match-ups, since they are shorter 20-30 minute segments. This list below is focused on family movie nights that are feature full-length 90 minute films.

Even if you are not doing the Classical Conversations curriculum, I think you will find this list very helpful in finding some excellent family movies corresponding to American History or character virtues. Our kids are 7, 9 and 11—but please decide for yourself whether these movies would work for your family and your children’s ages.

There are some weeks that I could not find a movie. On those weeks, instead of watching a movie corresponding to the history we are studying, we will watch a movie based on a character virtue that we will talk about all week long. See that list at the end of this post.

American History Family Movies

Week 1 | Columbus, 1492
- Pocahontas (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – This led to excellent family discussion on what was true and what was not true about the Disney version. We ended up reading several more books and watching another documentary on Pocahontas to answer some of our questions!

Week 2 | Pilgrims, 1620
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving – This would be a good movie to go with the history sentence for this week, on Pilgrims. You can watch it FREE on this YouTube playlist, or buy it from Amazon. Most libraries also have this available for loan.

Week 3 | Boston Tea Party, 1773
- Patrick Henry {History Heroes} – I don’t usually buy movies, but this one came highly recommended, and I was glad that we purchased it for our collection. If you don’t want to buy it, Liberty Kids is FREE on YouTube and would also be an excellent watch.

Week 4 | Declaration of Independence, 1776
- National Treasure (Disney+ or Amazon Prime) – Ever since he was a boy, Ben Gates was obsessed with finding a legendary treasure. He tries to decipher ancient riddles that lead him to it, including the Declaration of Independence.

Week 5 | George Washington, 1789
- Felicity – This movie was absolutely fantastic. It features what the first book in the Felicity series covers and is a perfect fit for a family movie when studying the American Revolution time period. Even our boys said they loved it and would watch it again!
  - I am so glad I bought the full set of American Girl movies. Renting each one would have added up to the same cost as buying the set.

Week 6 | Louisiana Purchase, 1803
- Davy Crocket, King of the Wild Frontier (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – A rip-roaring adventure with Davy Crockett.

Week 7 | Monroe Doctrine, 1812
- If you know of a movie that would go well with this week, let me know by emailing me please!

Week 8 | Missouri Compromise, 1820
- Ten Who Dared (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – John Wesley Powell leads an expedition through the Grand Canyon to chart the Colorado River.

Week 9 | Secession of the Southern States, 1850
- Westward Ho The Wagons! (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – The Stephen wagon train journeys to the NW Territory via the Oregon Trail in 1844.

Week 10 | Manifest Destiny, mid-1800s
- Tonka (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – Late 1800’s, a Sioux brave captures and tames a Stallion.

Week 11 | 1861 Civil War, 1861
- The Great Locomotive Chase (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – During Civil War a spy is asked to help destroy the railway system.

Week 12 | General Robert Lee, 1865
- Run Appaloosa, Run (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – Horse race, older movie, Indians

Week 13 | Fourteenth Amendment, 1868
- An American Tail – A family of Russian mice emigrate by boat to America, but their young son is lost overboard, washes ashore and experiences thrilling adventures traveling to find his parents in this animated classic.

Week 14 | Tycoons, late 1800s
- Samantha an American Girl Holiday (Amazon Prime) – Exciting movie based on an American Girl’s most popular character, Samantha, and her adventures in New York City at the turn of the 20th century.
  - I am so glad I bought the full set of American Girl movies. Renting each one would have added up to the same cost as buying the set.

Week 15 | Immigrants, 1820-1830
- Newsies (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – This Disney musical is a fictional version of the Newsie Strike in 1899. Although the actual strike happened, a lot of events and main characters are fictionalized. Themes include friendship, teamwork, never giving up, courage, and speaking up. Featuring an amazing cast and great musical numbers, Newsies is a great movie for the whole family, and among my favorite historical movies for kids. (PS Although the film portrays the strike a success, in real life, it was only a partial success. The reasons behind this make a great history lesson.

Week 16 | US and WWI, 1917
- Sgt Stubby – A stray dog joins his master on the battlefields of WWI in this fact-based animated story. Rated PG. A family favorite!
- Sergeant York – about a World War I hero and very good!
- War Horse – This is one of our family’s favorite movies, especially my youngest son. He listens to the audiobook once a year I think. His favorite! The movie is rated PG-13 and I do highly recommend reading or listening to the book first.

Week 17 | Nineteenth Amendment, 1920
- Kit Kitteredge American Girl – set during the Great Depression, 1934, in Ohio, as she realizes the importance of self-sacrifice, doing the right thing, and helping a friend.
  - I am so glad I bought the full set of American Girl movies. Renting each one would have added up to the same cost as buying the set.

Week 18 | Pearl Harbor, 1941
- Molly Movie – growing up in 1944 during WWII, as she and her family take in Emily, a young refugee from England!
  - I am so glad I bought the full set of American Girl movies. Renting each one would have added up to the same cost as buying the set.
- The Long Long Holiday – a well-done mini series about some kids visiting their grandparents in Normandy when the Germans invade. Covers some hard material, but in a way that was watchable with younger kids too.

Week 19 | NATO, 1949
- Valiant (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – Set in 1944 before D Day its about Britain’s messenger pigeons during WWII. Pigeons played a bigger role in the war than horses, dogs or cats.

Week 20 | Brown vs Board of Education, 1954
- MaryEllen 1955 – growing up in 1955. It’s Christmastime and she really wants to stand out in this busy season! A family friend with polio comes to visit them, and Maryellen is determined to have a big celebration!

Week 21 | US Astronauts, 1969
- Melody 1963 – Set in Detroit during the Civil Rights Movement, this film examines the joyful life and troubled times of an irrepressible 10-year-old African-American girl whose vivid imagination and creativity reinforce her optimism.

Week 22 | September 11th, 2001
- Ruby Bridges (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – Six year-old Ruby Bridges was the first black girl to attend a public school during the 1960s. Despite facing racism and challenges, Ruby persevered and is an excellent role model for youth today. It’s a sweet movie about a brave young girl.

Week 23 | Preamble to the Constitution
- The Color of Friendship (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – In this sweet Disney Channel original movie, two girls, a black African-American and white South African become friends in the midst of the heated 1970s. This was highly recommended, but I have not yet seen it myself.

Week 24 | Bill of Rights
- Night at the Museum (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – I’m not sure what movie to watch here, but this could be a fun one to recap some of the history you learned this year! 🙂

Family Movies for the Holidays

Families love to watch movies over the holidays, so I made a list of some quality favorites for younger families.

This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers (24min) – A great movie that shows the Pilgrims, Native American Indians, and the celebration of Thanksgiving.

A Christmas Carol (2009) (available Nov 6 on Disney+, $3 on Amazon Prime)

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – This movie is about a mislaid bank deposit. Not only does it condemn greed and selfishness, but it offers the viewer to consider positive alternatives. It points out each person’s value in the world and uniqueness. You’ll learn friendship, compassion and the value of sacrifice, as you witness the bitterness and unhappiness that can come with wealth. “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.” Proverbs 28:6. Download a FREE study guide for grades 4-7 for this movie!

Pollyanna – An orphan who brings sunshine to everyone she meets. As the characters in the movie learn the power of love and lightheartedness, your family will fall in love with the “glad game”. My kids played the glad game for days after reading this book and then watching the movie! 🙂

Curly Top (Amazon Prime) – Shirley Temple and sister win their way into the home of a wealthy orphanage administrator.

The Barefoot Executive (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – A mailroom clerk and chimp team up to pick hit TV shows. This is a just for fun movie!

The Prince of Egypt – Not entirely biblically accurate, see if your kids can notice what. Download a FREE movie study guide.

Old Yeller (Disney+, Amazon Prime) – Quintessential film about a boy’s love for his dog. A tear-jerker for sure!

The Secret Garden – This is amazing!! We listened to the Focus on the Family audio book this summer and then watched this 1993 version of the movie and it was sooooo good. We laughed hysterically at the scene with the masks. 🙂

Family Movies on Character Virtues

Here are a few more family movie ideas sorted by character virtues. Enjoy!

Gratitude
- Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory – We talked about how grateful Charlie was and how he repeated chose to do the right thing even when all the kids around him did not.
- Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable – We have not watched this movie that has a strong theme of perseverance and gratitude documenting Bethany’s journey of losing her arm in a shark attack and overcoming the challenge of surfing again. I’m still undecided if this would be too traumatic for our kids to watch, even though the descriptions say there is no inappropriate content. Common Sense media recommends for ages 8 and up.
- Other great movies for gratitude could be How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Cinderella, Annie, Mary Poppins, Pollyanna, Heidi, Christopher Robin.

Humility
- Great movies for humility could be How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure, Cars, Aladdin, Music Man, Pinocchio, Lego Batman Movie.
- Talk about how characters learn their excessive pride can be their downfall. You might discuss learning how to highlight the strengths of others, what it sounds like when someone brags about being better than others, and find ways to help your kids realize that we always have room for improvement.

Perseverance
- How to Train Your Dragon – A Viking boy befriends one of his deadliest foes, and the unlikely pair overcomes many obstacles and challenges.
- The Karate Kid – An elderly martial arts expert teaches a high schooler to defend himself from bullies.

Friendliness / Attentiveness
- A Mile in His Shoes – A pitcher with autism, about compassion and understanding for those who are a little different than most. Help kids gain understanding and compassion for characters with learning and attention issues.
- Milo and Otis – A fantastic movie for younger kids on friendship despite differences. Three animals travel together 200 miles across Canada.

Courage / Grit / Tolerance
- The Secret of Nimh (courage, grit, tolerance) – A fun drama and suspense come vividly to life in this cartoon, based on Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. It’s about a timid mouse who becomes a heroine.
- ET – A stranded alien needs to phone home and suburban kids help him get there.
- Sound of Music – In this true-life story a spirited young Austrian woman who leaves a convent to become a governess of seven unruly children. Her charm wins the hearts of the children.
- Mighty Joe Young – A fifteen foot gorilla escapes after being brought to Hollywood.
- Mulan (courage) – She pretends to be a man and takes her father’s place in the army.