Enrolling Now for 2026-27 School Year.
Enrolling Now for 2026-27 School Year.
Learning Coach Guide AP® Biology Contents Part C Unit Information13 Chemistry of Life Unit14 Cellular Structure and Function Unit15 Cellular Energetics Unit16 Cell Communication and Cell Cycle Unit 17 Heredity Unit 18 Gene Expression and Regulation Unit19 Natural Selection Unit 20 Ecology Unit21 Part AWelcome to AP® Biology Welcome Letter Dear Learning Coach, Thank you for partnering with CCA and investing in your learner’s education. This Learning Coach Guide is intended to help you support your learner in their AP® Biology course. Within this guide, you will find the goals, components, and features of the online course. Please take time to read and review this information so you understand how to help your learner interact with all the course’s elements. The Learning Coach Guide also includes information about each of the units in this course. On each page of unit information, you will discover the following. The Unit Overview will tell you what the focus, content, and skills of the unit will be. The Unit Assessment section is a place for you and your learner to preview the graded work in the course. At the start of each unit, work with your learner to look at the unit in edio and find out which types of graded work are in this unit. These assessment types are provided as a checklist. You can check off each one as your learner completes it. The Unit Materials section tells you the materials your learner will need to complete the activities in this unit. You will also find the materials list repeated within each lesson so that your learner has exactly what they need at the right time. The Unit Discussion Questions are optional questions that you may want to ask your learner during the unit to increase home and school connections about what your learner is studying. In the Unit Notables section, you may find optional activities, career connections, technology tips, ideas to help your learner if they get stuck, or safety tips. CCA wishes you and your learner a terrific school year! Supporting Your Learner Your role as a Learning Coach is very important. Here are a few ways you can help your learner do their very best in the course. Help your learner know what time guided or live class instruction is scheduled for and prompt them to attend sessions or watch recordings. Remember, it is okay for your learner to get stuck. Learning new material takes time. Encourage them to take breaks, keep trying, and even ask the teacher for help. Help your learner navigate technology. That may mean helping them type information or upload work into edio. Always encourage your learner to do their very best. Review the course syllabus for your learner’s course. Maintain communication with your learner’s teacher. Advanced Placement® (AP®) courses require more from the learners than other courses. You may find that your learner needs more practice, more review, and more support to be successful when compared to non-AP® courses. Excellent AP® learners should strive for mastery. Think of athletes and musicians. They practice until they are excellent. AP® learners should follow that kind of work ethic. Part BCourse Information Course Goals In AP® Biology, your learner will develop a deeper understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore evolution, cellular processes, energy and communication, genetics, information transfer, ecology, and interactions. They will actively engage in inquiry-based laboratory investigations and fieldwork. Your learner will be prepared for the AP® Biology Exam. By the end of the year, your learner will be able to: demonstrate their knowledge and ability to engage in the six science practices; apply the concepts of science and engineering practices; demonstrate their knowledge and ability to describe the cross-cutting concepts; use process statements and models to explain various biological concepts; analyze biological concepts through the use of visual models; ask scientific questions and determine data based on these questions; create data tables and graphs; analyze and interpret data through the use of statistical tests; and answer claims and scientific arguments through the use of the data. Course Format This section will help you to understand how your learner’s course is structured in edio. Lesson Components: Each day, your learner will spend approximately 50–60 minutes completing an AP® Biology lesson. Some days may take less time, while other days may take a little more time. It is common for learners taking AP® courses to spend time outside of the scheduled class time completing course reading or studying. Lesson Bundling: In AP® Biology, your learner will engage in lessons, assignments, projects, labs, quizzes, tests, and exams. Within some lessons, there are lesson bundles. Within the lesson bundles, there are different components your learner will interact with. These components will not be used every day. Getting Started Lesson: There is one Getting Started lesson in this course. It can be found on Day 1 of Unit 1. This lesson includes important information about the course and contact information for your teacher. Unit Overview: Each unit will include a unit overview. This describes what your learner will learn in the unit and how many assessments the unit will have. Prep for Success: At the beginning of each unit, your learner will find a Prep for Success. This component offers learners tips to be successful in the course, such as study tips, important software information, safety reminders, and more. Knowledge Check: There will be one Knowledge Check in each unit. The Knowledge Check is designed to check prior learning and understanding of key skills and concepts that will be taught in the unit. The Knowledge Check is not a graded assessment. Each lesson has its own components to help guide your learner through the lesson. Lesson Overview: At the beginning of every lesson, your learner will see the lesson overview. This section contains lesson objectives, lesson vocabulary, materials your learner will need for the lesson, and the suggested lesson length. Engage: The first section of the lesson is Engage. In this section, learners will be introduced to the lesson by making a connection to past and present knowledge and will get ready for the lesson’s instruction. Discover: New content and instruction is presented in the Discover section. Your learner will interact with the lesson content through defined vocabulary terms, videos, audio, and Pause and Think activities. Your learner will be able to practice and answer questions as they work through the lesson. Show: Learners will demonstrate what they have learned in the lesson through a series of practice questions. Questions will model both the multiple choice and free response questions that are used in the AP® Biology exam. Optional: More to Explore: At the end of some lessons, an Optional: More to Explore Activity will appear. The activity will introduce your learner to an extension that includes more information about the day’s lesson topic. Your learner may skip the activity and move directly to the lesson summary. Summary: This section recaps the day’s objectives and prepares learners for a future lesson or assessment. The course includes assignments, projects, and labs. These graded assignments allow your learner to show what they have learned and apply their new skills and knowledge learned during the lessons. All CCA assignments, projects, and labs include these components. Assessment Overview: At the beginning of each assessment, your learner will review the Assessment Overview. This section contains the goals of the assessment, materials your learner will need, the length of the assessment, and directions for completion. Plan: In the Plan section, learners will be introduced to the assignment or project. Learners may be provided with a review of content from the previous lessons, strategies for completing the activity, graphic organizers, and grading rubrics. Do: Learners will put their plan into action and work to complete the assignment, project, or lab successfully. This section also provides the grading expectations and/or rubric the teacher will use to grade the work. Reflect: In Reflect, learners will think about the work they completed. They will reflect upon the experience and analyze how well they completed the task. These moments of reflection are important and allow learners to think about their learning and work habits. In addition to assignments and projects, this course also includes quizzes, tests, and exams. Quiz, Test, and Exam Components: Quiz: A quiz may be given at the end of a topic or in a lesson bundle. Test Review: Before a test, learners will have the opportunity to review the content they will be assessed on in the test. Test: A test will assess learning across topics or at the end of a unit. Exam Review: Before an exam, learners will have the opportunity to review the content they will be assessed on in the exam. Exam: An exam assesses learning over multiple units. Exams are seen as midterm and final exams in Advanced Placement (AP®) courses. Course Features To best engage your learner, AP® Biology uses some additional features that are unique to this course. This course includes and uses the following unique features: Complete Unit Vocabulary Lists: In each unit review lesson, your learner will receive a full list of unit vocabulary words and definitions. Your learner can use the list of vocabulary to complete the review lesson as well as to review vocabulary for the unit test. They can choose to save the document to their desktop or print the document for reference. Labs: In some units, learners will engage in labs. These labs are designed to broaden each learner’s AP® Biology lab experience. Some of the labs will be virtual, giving learners an opportunity to see and learn about laboratory equipment that is not often available in a traditional secondary education classroom setting. AP® Biology Curriculum Kit: Your learner should have received a box that contains the supplies they will use during this course. The AP® Biology Curriculum Kit contains most of the materials your learner will need to complete the activities in this course. Take a few minutes to verify that your learner’s AP® Biology Curriculum Kit contains all the materials they need. The list can be found under the Syllabus tab on the left of the course homepage screen. Part CUnit Information Chemistry of Life Unit In this unit, your learner will study science practices focusing on experimentation and methods for analyzing and interpreting data. They will learn how to draw conclusions from the data and study the elements important to life, focusing on the unique properties of carbon and the compound water that give them the ability to support life. They will also learn about the structure and function of biological macromolecules such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Unit Overview Have your learner identify which assessment types they see in their unit. Check all that apply. Quiz _________________________ Test _________________________ Assignment ________________ Project _____________________ Exam _______________________ Unit Assessments How do biologists design experiments? What is the importance of water molecules to living systems? What are you looking forward to learning about in this course? Unit Discussion Questions In this unit, your learner will see that AP® Biology is a concept-heavy course. As your learner begins working on assignments, encourage focus on each big idea and important concept. It is important to set up good habits early and take each assignment seriously. Also, encourage your learner to keep a notebook and take notes for each unit lesson. Unit Notables none Kit Materials school supplies: erasers, pencils, pens Household Materials Cellular Structure and Function Unit In this unit, your learner will study the evolution of cells and their interaction with their environment and will learn about the structure and function of the cell membrane. Your learner will also learn about cell regulatory mechanisms such as diffusion, osmosis, and selective permeability. Finally, the unit will cover cell size and cell compartmentalization. Unit Overview Have your learner identify which assessment types they see in their unit. Check all that apply. Quiz _________________________ Test _________________________ Assignment ________________ Project _____________________ Exam _______________________ Unit Assessments What was the most interesting part of this unit? How do subcellular components and organelles contribute to the function of the cell? What did you find the most challenging or unexpected in this unit? Unit Discussion Questions In this unit, and moving forward through this course, your learner will start to accumulate new vocabulary terms. Studying vocabulary is essential to learning key concepts in AP® Biology. Encourage your learner to begin making flashcards for each new vocabulary term. This will help to prepare for reviewing all vocabulary before the AP exam. Unit Notables 50 mL volumetric flask, 100 mL graduated cylinder, 500 mL beakers, dialysis tubing, distilled water, electronic balance, funnel, gloves, glucose test strips, glucose-starch solution, iodine solution, pea seeds, pipette, planter pot, potting soil, ruler, scissors, starch test strips, stirring rod, string, sucrose Kit Materials paper towels, pieces of paper (small piece approximately 8 cm by 8 cm in size), tap water, spoon Household Materials Cellular Energetics Unit In this unit, your learner will study the laws of thermodynamics and the ways in which living systems transfer energy from one form to another. This unit will also introduce the properties of enzymes and the factors that affect enzyme activity. Finally, your learner will study biological processes, such as photosynthesis and cellular respiration, at the cellular level. Unit Overview Have your learner identify which assessment types they see in their unit. Check all that apply. Quiz _________________________ Test _________________________ Assignment ________________ Project _____________________ Exam _______________________ Unit Assessments How is energy captured and then used by a living system? How do organisms use energy or conserve energy to respond to environmental stimuli? Which lab activity did you enjoy the most? Why? Unit Discussion Questions In this unit, your learner will engage in several lab activities. Some lab activities will be hands-on, and some will be completed virtually. For the lab, your learner will need to grow several plants from seeds found in the AP® Biology Curriculum Kit. Be sure your learner follows lesson bundle directions to begin growing the plants well before day 1 of the photosynthesis lab. Unit Notables 10 mL graduated cylinder, 100 mL graduated cylinder, 500 mL beakers, baking soda, bromothymol blue solution, desk lamp, electronic balance, filter paper, forceps, hole punch, hydrogen peroxide, gloves, pipette, plant leaves grown from seeds, safety goggles, stirring rod, straws, syringes, yeast Kit Materials liquid soap, tap water, tape, timer, household spoons, school supplies such as pens, pencils, erasers Household Materials Cell Communication and Cell Cycle Unit In this unit, your learner will study how cells communicate, reproduce, and grow, and will explore how cells respond to external and internal signals through feedback and signal transduction pathways. Your learner will also examine how the cell cycle is regulated to ensure proper growth and reproduction. In this unit, your learner will also review concepts learned so far in the course and then take a two-part midterm exam. Unit Overview Have your learner identify which assessment types they see in their unit. Check all that apply. Quiz _________________________ Test _________________________ Assignment ________________ Project _____________________ Exam _______________________ Unit Assessments In what ways do cells use energy to communicate with one another? How prepared do you feel for the midterm exam? What can you do to be more prepared? Unit Discussion Questions In this unit, your learner will complete their AP® Biology Midterm Exam. To reduce your learner’s exam stress, encourage planning time to study. Your learner can write out a study plan or checklist and use flashcards to review important vocabulary. In the exam review lesson, try some practice multiple-choice and free-response questions. Encourage your learner to take these practices problems seriously as a true reflection of what will be on the midterm exam. Unit Notables none Kit Materials school supplies: erasers, pencils, pens Household Materials Heredity Unit In this unit, your learner will explore the process of meiosis and how it contributes to genetic diversity. Your learner will investigate Mendelian inheritance patterns, analyze exceptions to these patterns (non-Mendelian inheritance), and examine how genetic and environmental factors influence gene expression and inheritance. Unit Overview Have your learner identify which assessment types they see in their unit. Check all that apply. Quiz _________________________ Test _________________________ Assignment ________________ Project _____________________ Exam _______________________ Unit Assessments How would Mendel’s laws have been affected if he had studied a different type of plant? What was the most interesting part of the course so far? Unit Discussion Questions In this unit, your learner will start the second half of AP® Biology. While the final course exam may not include questions from content learned in the earlier units, the AP® Biology exam will. Encourage your learner to save notes and flashcards from all previous units until they take the AP® exam. Unit Notables none Kit Materials school supplies: erasers, pencils, pens Household Materials Gene Expression and Regulation Unit In this unit, your learner will explore how DNA and RNA store, transmit, and regulate genetic information. Your learner will study transcription, translation, and gene regulation processes to understand how genotype influences phenotype. Your learner will also investigate the impact of mutations and biotechnology applications such as genetic engineering. Unit Overview Have your learner identify which assessment types they see in their unit. Check all that apply. Quiz _________________________ Test _________________________ Assignment ________________ Project _____________________ Exam _______________________ Unit Assessments What characteristics of DNA allow it to be used as hereditary material? How can DNA samples be used to solve crimes? What did you learn from the Gel Electrophoresis lab? What did you find the most interesting about this unit? Unit Discussion Questions In this unit, your learner will engage in a Gel Electrophoresis Analysis of DNA Lab. This is a virtual lab based on a fictitious scenario that requires forensic science investigation. Forensic science is an exciting field with room for growth and specialization. Encourage your learner to research careers in forensic science and the educational background required to attain a job in this career field. Unit Notables none Kit Materials school supplies: erasers, pencils, pens Household Materials Natural Selection Unit In this unit, your learner will explore the mechanisms of evolution, including Darwin’s theory of natural selection, and the genetic and environmental factors that influence evolutionary change. Your learner will analyze various lines of evidence supporting evolution, interpret phylogenetic trees and cladograms, and examine how extinction and speciation impact biodiversity. Finally, your learner will investigate models describing the origin and evolution of life on Earth. Unit Overview Have your learner identify which assessment types they see in their unit. Check all that apply. Quiz _________________________ Test _________________________ Assignment ________________ Project _____________________ Exam _______________________ Unit Assessments What conditions in a population make it more or less likely to evolve? What did you find the most interesting or surprising in this unit? Unit Discussion Questions In this unit, your learner is approaching the end of the AP® Biology course. This means that the AP® exam is near. Encourage your learner to set up a study schedule. They can begin reviewing topics in preparation for the exam one to two months in advance. Tell your learner to set aside time for a short study session each weeknight. They can start by reviewing topics from the first half of the course beginning with Unit 1. Unit Notables gloves, pea seeds, planter pot, potting soil Kit Materials tap water Household Materials Ecology Unit In this unit, your learner will explore how populations interact within ecosystems through biogeochemical cycles (including water, nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus) and energy flow. They will examine population dynamics, community structure, and the impacts of environmental change and ecosystem disruptions such as habitat loss, pollution, and invasive species. In this unit, your learner will review concepts covered throughout the second half of the course and then complete a final exam. In this unit, your learner will analyze how populations interact with the ecosystem. They will learn how energy flows within an ecosystem. Your learner will study concepts on population and ecosystem dynamics. They will also study the causes and effects of environmental change. Unit Overview Have your learner identify which assessment types they see in their unit. Check all that apply. Quiz _________________________ Test _________________________ Assignment ________________ Project _____________________ Exam _______________________ Unit Assessments What did you learn from the Energy Dynamics Case Lab? What did you find interesting or challenging in this unit? What do you need to work on in order to prepare for the final exam? What is your plan? Unit Discussion Questions This is the final unit. Your learner is preparing for the AP® exam and final exam. Your learner will complete the Energy Dynamics Lab where they will record data based on research that has been previously conducted and use that data to make some calculations of their own. Remind your learner to record all data in calculations in the appropriate data tables. This data will be necessary to complete day 2 of the assignment successfully. Unit Notables 500 mL beakers, clear cellophane tape, desk lamp, electronic balance, fan, pea plants (grown from pea seeds), spray bottle Kit Materials timer, sandwich bags, one gallon plastic bag, tap water Household Materials This is the final unit. Your learner is preparing for the AP® exam and final exam. Your learner will complete the Energy Dynamics Lab where they will record data based on research that has been previously conducted and use that data to make some calculations of their own. Remind your learner to record all data in calculations in the appropriate data tables. This data will be necessary to complete day 2 of the assignment successfully.
Enrolling Now for 2026-27 School Year.
