Too many units to teach?

The best solution I found was to teach fewer units and teach them well. This requires administrative approval which may be difficult or impossible to get, however.

Another option is to teach each unit in less depth. Carefully prioritize what is most important for students to learn from a unit in terms of facts, vocabulary, concepts, and skills, then evaluate each suggested lesson and activity in view of how much it will contribute to that essential learning and how much time it will take to prepare. It is my observation that most published units are padded with fun but extraneous lessons and activities that take a lot of time and result in little real learning. Use them if you wish or simplify them if you'd rather conserve time for something else. If you try something once and it's not a worthwhile use of time, don't use it again.

A third possibility is to teach selected units in depth and teach others more superficially. Have students do the reading, view the films, and complete a few quick, easy activities so that they become familiar with and interested in the subject without investing a great deal of time in it. Introduce books they can read on their own about the subject and provide incentives for interested students to follow through with projects, reports, etc. Focus on key concepts and teach them as efficiently as possible.