Teaching thematically.....part 2

Alright, so my latest scores and current classrooms have me looking to blow some things up!  I like using Canvas and have been much more hands on than I was last spring with actually teaching the content I feel, but am still not sure about how much is sticking.  I've tried some new techniques which I'll talk about in another blog coming up, but I really think some wholesale changes might be needed.  I really feel looking back that some of the best years I had teaching, and at least one of the years I felt the most confident in was when I switched things up and taught thematically.

Now this was middle school and those standards made teaching thematically relatively easy.  High school standards are a bit trickier as they're more chronologically driven.  But I don't think chronology is working, or at least I don't feel that moving away from it is going to be a detriment to my students.  Here are some of my concerns or at least my rationale as to why I want to move toward thematic.

1. For world history, the stigma is why should I care, how does this relate to me today?  Difficult to tie in certain eras and civilizations, and while I may care, students don't always.  By the time I get to the last 100 years, which the students at least have a clue about or care about as we get into current day issues, they're burned out and we're now just 3-4 weeks left in the class.  Switching to thematic allows me to start right away with current day issues & themes and hopefully get them engaged from the start.  (also on our final exams, current day is one of the units/periods they emphasize)
2. On that note of getting bogged down by the curriculum guides and going through everything chronologically.  So much gets cut or brushed upon.  There are some times where students can dig deep, but there appears to be much more breadth than much depth.  But again emphasis of standards talks about Renaissance and Middle Ages, but at best there will be a couple of questions on any of that at the end of year.
3. Personally I feel it is tougher to do much PBL or some critical thinking stuff.  I think that kind of stuff is what I should be teaching my students.  Especially in today's world with the needs for media literacy and learning key historical thinking skills, they seem to be pushed aside.  I know good teachers incorporate these, but many focus on content above all else.  I'd rather flip that.  Teach skills, use content to teach, practice, and reinforce them.
4. Lastly, I feel that there can be more choice, which hopefully will help foster more intrinsic learning from my students rather than "checking the box"  I'd like for none of my students to be in the Marshawn Lynch mode of "I'm just here so we don't get fined" and I think more choice, more relevance, and more opportunities to take what they learn and see it as usual can get me there.
5. I also feel that not enough human geography skills are in the course, again topics and issues that impact our students.  More on globalization, human interaction, migration, cultural identity, etc.

Now the big question is how to construct it.  Certainly some units are easier to tie together than others; trade, civilizations & state/empire building, and starting the year off with historical thinking skills/media literacy and current day world.  

So any and all insight or thoughts are welcome, leave them in comments or find me on twitter to discuss, would love to hear it all.  Thanks