Students must be able to evaluate primary literature, yet few options exist within the undergraduate curriculum to develop the necessary skills. In this article, we offer an adapted journal club that provides students opportunities to critically analyze selected research articles, emphasizing scientific communication, critical thinking, and practical application of coursework. We include the primary instruments of the adapted journal club, teaching tips, and guided implementation recommendations, including tools to pre-designate student roles to examine specific aspects of the article. Using their preclass homework as a guide, students present their respective portions to the class as the class gains a collective understanding of the research design, experimental approach, and relative merits. This student-centric learning approach achieved significant gains in scientific literacy. Our data show a 37% increase in student abilities to analyze study design, a 61% gain in discerning primary from secondary sources, and gains of between 61% and 76% in the confidence to lead content-specific scientific discussions. We present this approach and suggest that grades, self-assessments, and surveys illustrate the benefits of the adapted journal club for the undergraduate learning experience.