ABSTRACT
Azar Nafisi, in Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, tells of the considerable risks she and her former students took to continue reading and discussing works of fiction that had been banned in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A good fiction book can build background knowledge about a subject. Books in two particular genres of fiction, science fiction and historical fiction, are filled with natural curricular connections for use with specific disciplines. The chapter demonstrates how teacher may use fictional texts to motivate students to think in ways that will help them in science, math, and social studies classes, as well as to learn specific course content. In "Taming the Alien Genre: Bringing Science Fiction into the Classroom", authors K. T. Bucher and M. L. Manning give sound reasons for teaching science concepts through and with stories in this genre. Teach content and watch students learn through the use of science fiction trade books.
