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I was wondering who (if anyone) has tried incorporating the class reading of a novel on the topic of study into their curriculum? I was just thinking that this would be an interesting change to look at the topic in another light. I was also thinking that using this in my accelerated classes, it would be read mostly outside of class with in class discussion that would accompany our normal class activities on the unit, maybe talking about inaccuracies/accuracies with the science in the novel or something like that. Has anyone tried this? If so with what books and for what units? I start off next semester with evolution and was wondering if anyone knew of any novels on the topic that might be worth checking into? Also keep in mind that these are freshmen even though they are accelerated, they are still only 14-15. I eagerly await any and all ideas!

Hi Lynn -

This is a wonderful idea! How lucky you are to have time in your curriculum to explore this with your students:

A few book suggestions come to mind right away:

Genetics: The Double-Helix
Evolution: Inherit the Wind or readings from Tears of the Cheetah on genetics and biodiversity conservation
Ecology: Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold or A Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson

Dorothy

Hi Lynn, I, too, have used the Sand County Almanac in my seventh grade Life Sciences. The stories are so well written! If you are looking for outstanding fiction - you can't beat John Steinbeck's "The Pearl" to go along with a unit on Cells. Carolyn

Thank you so much for your responses!! I totally forgot we are adding ecology this spring haha, so maybe I will try one of those.

Incorporating literature into Science is appropriate for ALL levels. What a wonderful interdisciplinary opportunity. I recently incorporated a poem from the book The Tree That Time Built into an evolution lesson for middle school students. The poem is about the bird, Galapagos Rail. I had the students read the poem and use it as a model for writing their own poems about Darwin's finches. There are a number of articles available on this site about incorporating literature into a science class. All students, not just the accelerated or HS students, can absolutely benefit from literature incorporation.

Check out:
Rillero, P., Cleland, J., & Conzelman, K. (1999). The nature of haiku. Science and children,
037(02), 16-20.

Zales, C., & Unger, C. (2008). The science and literacy framework. Science and children,
046(03), 2008.


Hoberman, M. A., Winston, L., & Johnston, T. (2009). The tree that time built. (p. 19).
Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.

My anatomy students are reading Stiff: the curious life of human cadavers by Mary Roach (2004). Next semester they are reading Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales by William Bass and Jon Jefferson (2004). If you are looking for something shorter, you could also incorporate the essays of Stephen J. Gould. They are very entertaining and content-rich. You can find a complete list of his essays and other supporting essays by fellow evolutionary ecologists [url=http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library.html]here.[/url] You could also use articles from Scientific American or Bioscience. I also have a personal science library that I keep at school. I have my students read one of these books and write a book review (e.g. like the New York Times Book Review). Here is a short list of some of the titles I have--The Immortal Life of Heinretta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2011), Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey (2000), Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution by Lynn Margulis, Dorion Sagan and Lewis Thomas (1997), Acquiring Genomes: The Theory of the Origins of the Species by Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan (2003), The Demon in the Freezer: A True Story by Richard Preston (2003), The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story by Richard Preston (1999), Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science by Richard Preston (2008), The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park: A Novel by Michael Crichton, Congo by Michael Crichton, Next by Micheal Crichton, Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist by William R. Maples and Michael Browning, and The Bone Lady: Life as a Forensic Anthropologist by Mary H. Manheim. I get all of my books from local second hand bookstores. If you let some stores know that you are a teacher and trying to acquire certain titles, they may take your name and call you before they offer the book to the public.

NSTA also has several lists of trade books that are recommended for high school students.

Thank you so much for your responses! I am off to google some of those titles and see if I can get some for next semester!

I have just discovered a great bioethics/neuroethics fiction series by Mary E Pearson - The Adoration of Jenna Fox, and the second one is The Fox Chronicles. Would fit with anything to do with genetics, genetic engineering, the nervous system. They are well reviewed, and rated for grade 9/age 14 and up. http://www.amazon.com/Mary-E.-Pearson/e/B001H6OGC4/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

I just finished reading Dr. Franklin's Island. It is a really good novel on genetic engineering. I think that the students would really be able to relate to the characters in the book. It is kind of like a teenage Island of Dr. Moraeu.

I'm hoping more people will post books they've used in the science classrooms. I think I just found my summer reading list. Thanks, everyone!

I also find Richard Preston's books fascinating. A couple years ago I read another of his, The Wild Trees. For students interested in ecology, especially in the field, this is a great read. It grabs you right at the beginning, and takes you on an adventure to the tops of some of North America's tallest trees. I found it interesting because it puts an interesting twist on the real lives of scientists - they are not all geeks working in a lab, and for many, it can be almost as exciting as Indiana Jones. Highly recommend, although there are some rather racy sections, so not for middle schoolers, even if they are quite advanced.

We read the "Hot Zone" aloud. Try various biographies of scientists, and books like "GATTACA" or I recommend "The Plague" by Albert Camus as we read this in high school myself and thought it amazing. Also, vampire novels are perfect ways to explore the intriguing possibility of some alternate life forms. When they write essays the creativity and analytical thinking could naturally flow from these new contexts. Provide a platform to energize their thinking. Don't forget "Lost World" by Michael Crichton or classics like "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells.

I love that you are thinking about incorporating novels into your instruction about the life sciences. I feel like novels have a way of engaging students that may otherwise be intimidated by scientific literature. While I was a peer tutor for an introductory biology class at the University of Oregon, I encouraged my students to read Your Inner Fish by Neil Shuben, The Panda’s Thumb, The Flamingo’s Smile, and Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes by Stephen Jay Gould. Your Inner Fish corresponds well to the unit on evolution and development; it traces the evolutionary trail of significant human traits as they develop in humans. These three books by Stephen Jay Gould are all collections of his essays about the evolution of abnormal and unique traits in the animal kingdom. These essays are short and extremely interesting, and they offer engaging prompts for discussion about evolution. Keep in mind that I did use these with college students and that the text may be challenging for high school freshmen; however, if you are able to spend time reviewing the vocabulary with your students, or perhaps even read them as a class, I feel like these novels would be excellent editions to your lessons on evolution. You could even pick and choose the essays within the books you think would be most appropriate or effective for your students and go from there. I have found that the essays really get students thinking about the concepts being taught on a deeper level and cause them to come up with some really great questions about the topic of evolution.