The universal appeal and pedagogical power of stories are well established, yet they are underutilized in biology classrooms. I suggest that stories have an important role in helping students understand how science is made, and in offering glimpses into the hearts and lives of scientists.

Students in the United States struggle with literacy skills, a problem that extends into their undergraduate education and beyond. Particularly in the sciences, reading assignments are usually singularly academic in nature and do not impart the importance of creativity and innovation. We propose a curriculum strategy and lesson plan that employs a “reading across the curriculum” approach to enhance literacy skills in biology students while simultaneously encouraging scientific discourse and creativity.