Lab Lit: Writing Fiction Based on Real Science

Overview | What can you learn about science from fiction? What can you learn about the elements of fiction from stories about the work of real scientists? In this lesson, students learn about the genre of “lab lit,” then choose from a number of activities to explore an area of science through reading and writing lab lit.

Materials | Computers with Internet access. Optional: projection equipment.

Warm-Up | Read the following two excerpts aloud to students, or project them on a whiteboard, without revealing the sources:

1. Two paragraphs from “Spillover,” by David Quammen, beginning with “By the time Reid rushed back to the stables, she was dead” on page 15. (Go to “Search inside this book.”)

2. Two pages from “Intuition,” by Allegra Goodman, beginning with “Cliff’s cheeks were burning…” on page 5. (Go to “Search inside this book.”)

Ask students if they can guess which excerpt is fact and which is fiction. How did they decide? (“Spillover” is nonfiction, whereas “Intuition” is fiction.)

Ask students what story elements are in both excerpts. (You might show them the Flocabulary video, “Five Things (Elements of a Short Story)” and discuss the definitions of plot, character, conflict, theme and setting.) Then, reread the excerpts and have students identify places where they see those elements in play.

What do fiction and literary nonfiction have in common? How are they different? What fiction have students read in which there is scientific information that may not be grounded in fact (for instance, some science fiction or fantasy books they have read)? What nonfiction science pieces — like essays, newspaper articles, or biographies — have they read that have strong story elements in them?

Related | Katherine Bouton’s essay “In Lab Lit, Fiction Meets Science of the Real World” describes several examples of fictional literature that is strongly rooted in factual science.

In Barbara Kingsolver’s new novel, “Flight Behavior,” a central character is an entomologist tracking the effects of global climate change on monarch butterflies. The scientist, Ovid Byron, shows up at the Appalachian farm of Dellarobia Turnbow after she discovers a vast immigration of monarchs, displaced from their Mexican wintering spot by floods caused by global warming.

There’s a love story, of course, and a coming-of-age story (Dellarobia finally gets to go to college), and an intergenerational buddy story — her precocious 6-year-old, Preston, bonds with Dr. Byron. But the take-away of this novel is that nature is off kilter, spinning out of control, changing before our very eyes.

As she did in “Prodigal Summer” (2000), Ms. Kingsolver uses fiction to advocate for environmental awareness. But this advocacy is embedded in a compelling narrative of love and loss, opportunities taken or missed, characters who behave in complex and sometimes perplexing ways. Dellarobia Turnbow and her family are dirt-poor, and a summer of incessant rain has left them desperate. The timberland where she discovers the butterflies has already been promised to a lumber company. Save the butterflies or save the Turnbows?

Background Vocabulary: Read the entire article with your class, then answer the questions below. You may wish to introduce students to the following words or concepts before reading: entomologist, ecology, latitude, pharmaceutical.

Questions | For reading comprehension and discussion:

1. What is lab lit, according to the Web site this article quotes?
2. What are some examples of lab lit in the article and what science issues do they address?
3. How is lab lit different from science fiction? How is it similar?
4. What do you think accounts for this growing field? What answers does the article supply?
5. What lab lit, if any, have you read? Would you be interested in this genre? Why or why not?

Activity | Here are a few ways you might want to explore lab lit with your students.

A Novel Idea: In groups, students choose recent classroom topics that could form the basis for a novel or a movie. Students might, for example, consider climate change, oil and gas exploration, agriculture and food production, sports and head injuries, forensic science or genetic engineering. Or just invite them to page through the Science section of The Times to find articles that might inspire a short story or novel.

Then have students collaborate to write a plot synopsis for a movie, story or a novel rooted in the topic. How would the science, and the work of scientists, be woven into the plot? How would you manage to impart interesting and factual scientific information in the story but make sure it does not distract from the compelling plot and characters?

Students could then present their ideas to the class. Next, have the class discuss which ideas sound most interesting. Which are the most realistic? Which seem like the best use of scientific information? Why?

Scientists at Work: Read several posts by different authors on The Times’s Scientist at Work blog or explore the Profiles in Science. What elements of story can you find in these pieces? Which people and situations might lend themselves best to a fictional treatment based on real events?

Create a character sketch, movie or novel treatment inspired by these real-world scientists. As in the activity above, have students share ideas with the class and then rework their pieces based on feedback.

Lit Lab Reading Groups: Students form reading groups and choose a lab lit book from the original article or the Lab Lit Web site to read and discuss.

How are plot, character, conflict, theme and setting woven together with real science? Which aspects of the books are factual and which are fiction? How much of the story parallels news reported in The Times and elsewhere? What did you learn about science from this novel? What questions did it raise for you that might require further research into science?

A “Frankenstein” First: According to the article, “Frankenstein” is possibly the earliest example of lab lit. On the Learning Network, we have a whole section of often-taught novels paired with Times journalism, and “Frankenstein” is one of them.

Read some of the Science Times articles on cloning, DNA and scientific research that we’ve paired with this novel, then either rewrite a scene in it or create an afterword to the novel that updates some aspect of the story based on current scientific knowledge.

Another option? Choose any other lab lit novel and create a page like we did for “Frankenstein” that lists Times and other nonfiction pieces that students might read to help understand the science in the novel.

Going Further | Students use their notes from the activities above to write their own lab lit story or movie script. Teachers in the science and English language arts departments might collaborate to work on these stories, then present them together in a reading for the school community. The art department might also pitch in to help supply illustrations for the stories, or a backdrop for the readings.

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Common Core ELA Anchor Standards, 6-12:

Reading
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Writing:
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Speaking and Listening:
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
McREL Standards

Science

Earth and Space Sciences
1. Understands atmospheric processes and the water cycle
Life Sciences
4. Understands the principles of heredity and related concepts
5. Understands the structure and function of cells and organisms
6. Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment

Physical Sciences
9. Understands the sources and properties of energy

Nature of Science
11. Understands the nature of scientific knowledge
12. Understands the nature of scientific inquiry
13. Understands the scientific enterprise