Sounds utterly brilliant. Thanks for the mention!
http://books.google.com/books?id=qmaM-r8BwnEC&dq=%22Year+Million%22+by+Damien+Broderick&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=rVkz87kOWe&sig=1WOca2PgotwfqOyr1Mc_crpA9xw&hl=en&ei=XP3KSt-pJZSqswPTrqiiBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Star Maker, written by Olaf Stapledon in 1937, is an excellent read that is often consider the forgotten cornerstone of science fiction. Its wording is intuitive and its concepts can be incredibly influential. I can imagine your students being blown away by its scope.

--- Stapledon undertakes the immense task of describing the entire history of life in the universe.
--- It tackles philosophical themes such as the essence of life, of birth, decay and death, and the relationship between creation and creator.
--- Stapledon imagines alien biologies, minds and civilizations radically different from human ones. Some of the elements and themes briefly discussed prefigure later fiction concerning genetic engineering and alien life forms.
--- Arthur Clarke considered Star Maker to be one of the finest works of science fiction ever written.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Maker

Inspired from
http://www.elkcloner.com/