Instructors expect students to read before class to engage them in using higher-order thinking skills that are critical to performing in group work and engaging in discussions. As many instructors are aware, however, for various reasons many students don't read the assigned textbook. In this study, science news articles were used as prereadings to improve students' preparation for a General Biology course. Findings revealed shorter, content-relevant news articles to be valuable alternatives to content-heavy, longer textbook readings for enhancing student preparation, participation, and success.