Looking for feedback on my plan for this year!

Hello, everyone!

We're in the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of summer break in my district, so I've started to make my gameplan for this coming year. A few things to know about my situation:

• 85 minute blocks on an A/B schedule
• My district is reordering their social studies courses, so I will be the only World (1200) teacher in my school this year for students who are repeating and need the credit to graduate. I'll have mostly seniors, which means they'll be more competent than my typical sophomores, but also raises the stakes for success in my course this year.

Given all that, I want to try a different approach with more student choice. I know most of my students have taken the course in the past, so my plan is to condense the essentials into a traditional class for the first meeting each week. I have the topics listed way down at the bottom, based on my district's curriculum guide. The second meeting of the week, typically Wednesday/Thursday, would be for working on projects, which rotate every 5 weeks. And then, if I see students a third time (which is typically every 3 to 4 weeks) we will have 1-on-1 check-ins, an incentive for students who are on track (I'm thinking a chopsticks challenge for the first one since we'll be talking about the Ming) and calls home for the students who are habitually absent.

What do you think? Don't pull punches if you think I'm going to have a bad time carrying this out.

World History Assessment Structure

World History Week Structure

• 1st Meeting(M/T): Content (Traditional Lesson with Formative Assessments)
• 2nd Meeting(W/R): Project (Work on Assessments, Progress Reflection)
• 3rd Meeting(F): Relax/Refocus (Incentive for on-track students, 1-on-1 meetings, make-up work for off-track students, contacts home for chronically absent students)

4 Weeks Each for Required and Flexible Assessments

Example: Week 1-4 Source Analysis, Week 5 FA Selection, Weeks 6-9 Flexible Assessment, Week 10 CBA

36 Weeks of Content for World History

Q1 (Global Tapestry/Exploration)

1. Mongols/Black Death (Judaism)
2. Yuan/Ming China (Confucianism/Daoism?)
3. Ottomans/Safavids (Islam)
4. Mughal Empire (Hinduism/Buddhism)
5. Renaissance/Reformation Europe (Christianity)
6. Explorers
7. La Conquista
8. Columbian Exchange
9. Slave Trade

Q2 (Revolutions/Industry)

1. Enlightenment
2. French Revolution
3. Haiti/Latin America/Mexico
4. Nationalism
5. Origins of Industrial Revolution
6. Urban Game
7. Working Conditions
8. Child Labor
9. Responses to Industrial Revolution 

Q3 (Empire/Global Conflict)

1. Motivations for New Imperialism
2. Scramble for Africa
3. Congo Free State
4. Opium Wars & Boxer Rebellion
5. Meiji Restoration
6. Causes of Global Conflict
7. Weaponry/Tactics
8. Fascism/Atrocities
9. Peace Treaties

Q4 (Cold War/Globalization)

1. International Organizations
2. Cold War in Europe
3. Cold War in Asia
4. Cold War in Americas
5. Decolonization
6. End of the Cold War
7. Apartheid
8. Globalization
9. Terrorism