Theodore Johnson has worked as a science educator for more than 17 years. During this time, he has taught students from a variety of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds as well as different levels of academic achievement. For the past 10 years, he has taught at Lowell High School in San Francisco, a high-achieving public school. Prior to moving to San Francisco, he taught in the Providence Public Schools (Rhode Island) where he helped plan and implement the district's first science magnet high school, and contributed to a district-wide standards-based curriculum redesign. Mr. Johnson holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry (Tougaloo College), a M.

Sc. in Biology (Brown University), and MA in Teaching (Brown University). Additionally, he completed a professional training in secondary school administration (Providence College) and has been certified as a school administrator as well as a biology, chemistry, and general science teacher in Rhode Island, California, and Connecticut. He has also worked on a variety of research projects in the fields of physical and organic chemistry, plant genetics, and immunology. Aside from drawing on his substantive scientific knowledge, the author has put his expertise in curriculum design and instruction his to work in developing this book. He applied a narrative approach based on central themes in biological systems and guided by the AP Biology curriculum framework. This book is the outcome of an ongoing effort to develop an AP Biology course that is fully aligned to the new AP Biology curriculum, and that is student-centered. As you flip through the pages, you will appreciate its rich, colorful, and carefully composed illustrations that are accompanied by simple analogies and relevant real-life examples to bring the subject matter to life.