Eastside High School (2026-2027)
Teacher: Nathan Shaw
Room: C139
Human Geography (Honors)
Teacher Contact Information
Phone: 864-355-2843
Email: nmshaw@greenville.k12.sc.us (preferred method of contact)
Teacher Schedule – 2026-2027
1st Semester:
1st Block: Human Geo. (CP) 8:45–10:15
2nd Block: Human Geo. (H) 10:20-11:55
3rd Block: Planning 12:00-2:05
4th Block: Human Geo. (CP) 2:10-3:40
2nd Semester:
1st Block: AP Human Geo. 8:45–10:15
2nd Block: Human Geo. (H) 10:20-11:55
3rd Block: AP Human Geo. 12:00-2:05
4th Block: Planning 2:10-3:40
Recommended Materials
3 ring binder
Subject dividers for notebook
College ruled notebook paper
Blue or black pens
Pencils
12 pack of colored pencils
Course Introduction
Students study the Earth’s human geography beginning with the use of maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate geographic information. Students will examine patterns and processes of how human characteristics and activities vary across Earth’s surface and how humans understand, use, and alter the surface of Earth. Conceptual in nature rather than place specific, this course is organized systematically around the topics of basic geography skills, population and migration geography, cultural geography, political geography, economic geography, and urban and rural land use. As an honors course, students will be challenged much further than in a CP level Human Geography course. Students will be challenged through deeper analysis, critical thinking, and higher-level application of geographic concepts. They will engage in more complex texts, case studies, and data to explore patterns, processes, and global connections in greater depth. Students will also participate in more rigorous discussions.
To encourage inquiry, the grade nine Human Geography standards are constructed around the following four themes: Places and Regions (PR), Environment and Resources (ER), Human Systems (HS), and Applied Geography (AG). These four themes define the multi-faceted focus of Human Geography, connecting human characteristics to their impact on the environment. These themes enable students to make connections between regions, differing scales, distribution of objects, and identify trends, patterns, and processes across the Earth’s human landscapes.
Resources/Materials Used:
● National Geographic Magazine
○ Including maps, articles, and website
● Falardeau, Philippe, dir. The Good Lie. 2014; Burbank, CA: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2014. DVD.
○ A film telling the story of several Sudanese children escaping civil war in Sudan in the 1980s. This story details their experiences in refugee camps, their immigration to the United States in the early 2000s, and the cultural changes they encountered in the United States. Rated PG-13.
● Goode’s World Atlas. 22nd edition. New York: Rand McNally.
We will use various other articles, films/videos, images, maps, etc.
Grading System/Course Requirements
This course will be taught in a manner similar to a college course. Students are expected to do additional research outside of class when encouraged, take notes from lectures, and write frequent essays and short answer responses. Students will take a pre (ungraded) and post quiz for each unit.
The grading breakdown for this class is found below:
● Unit/Chapter Tests, Projects: 60%
● Quizzes/Class Assignments/Homework: 40%
● A= 90-100
● B= 80-89
● C= 70-79
● D= 60-69
● F= 0-59
Make-up Work Policy
● Make-up work is defined as work not completed or turned in due to a student’s absence.
● This policy is set by the district.
● Students may be allowed to make up work due to absences that are excused, unexcused or related to discipline with no penalty within 5 days or a reasonable time according to GCSD board policy.
● If a student misses work due to an absence, it is the student’s responsibility to coordinate time with the teacher within 5 days of return to make up the work. Any work not submitted within the 5 day makeup period will turn into “late work.”
● Alternative assignments may be given for performance-based tasks that cannot be recreated in a make-up format.
● If a student is present on the day a test, quiz or project due date is announced and then absent on the day of the test, quiz or project deadline, he/she must be prepared to take the test, quiz, or turn in the project on the day he/she returns to school.
● Field trips and participation in other extracurricular events (such as athletics) are considered attendance days. Work missed due to such events can be submitted electronically by midnight on the day that it is due. Items that cannot be submitted electronically should be submitted the following attendance day.
● Students are encouraged to utilize the before and after school tutoring programs to complete make-up and late work in a proactive manner.
Late Work Policy
Teachers reserve the right to alter this policy based on extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances should be discussed with the administration.
● Late work is defined as work not completed/turned in on time even though the student attended the class.
● Any assignment which is not turned in on time will be deducted 10% off of the original grade earned for each school day the assignment is late up to five days.
● After five days, the student will be assigned a 0 for the assignment.
● Late work will not be accepted after the end of a grading period.
● Students who have 504/IEP/ESOL accommodations specifically allowing for extra time may exceed the 5 day window to maintain compliance with their respective educational plan.
● Students are encouraged to utilize the before and after school tutoring programs to complete make-up and late work in a proactive manner.
Class Expectations
● Daily Materials: Students need a 3-ring binder, dividers, notebook paper, blue or black pens, and their Chromebook ready at the beginning of each class.
● Classroom Management: Good behavior is expected of all students. Each student should participate in class activities. All school policies will be enforced. Be respectful of everyone in class.
● Restroom and Tardy Policies: School tardy policy will be enforced. Students should use the restroom facilities before class if possible. Smartpasses will be required for restroom use.
● Phone Usage: The school phone policy, as outlined below, will be followed.
○ Eastside High School is a Personalized Learning School with each student having access to a Chromebook to use for instructional purposes.
○ To increase student engagement and minimize distractions to the instructional environment, students are not allowed to use their personal electronic devices, which include, but are not limited to cell phones and earbuds, during any class.
○ Students may use their personal devices before school, after school, during lunch and during class changes.
○ Failure to comply with this policy will be treated as a refusal to obey. A consequence matrix addressing infractions is included in the student handbook and located on the school’s website.
○ Neither the school nor the district will be responsible for any lost, stolen, or damaged electronic device or cell phone brought onto school property.
Classroom Procedures and Regulations
● Students will, during class discussions and lectures, raise their hand to be recognized by the teacher before they speak. If the teacher or a student is addressing the class, no one is to talk or leave his/her seat for any reason.
● Bring fully charged Chromebooks and materials every day.
● Be seated when the tardy bell rings and remain seated until dismissed.
● All assignments are due as scheduled unless the student is absent the day the assignment was announced. If a student is present when an assignment or assessment is announced and is absent on the due date, the student will bring the completed assignment or take the assessment (i.e. a test) on the first day returned to class.
● It is the student’s responsibility to ask the teacher for any work missed due to an absence, not the other way around.
● No food is allowed in class. Only drinks that may be sealed will be accepted in class.
● Students are expected to keep the room neat and will properly dispose of trash or recyclables.
● No personal grooming or applying makeup during class. This includes brushing hair, trimming or painting fingernails, etc.
● Do not sleep in class. Students will not be allowed to make-up missed work because of sleeping.
● All rules of conduct stated in the student handbook apply to this classroom.
Discipline Plan
Depending on the offense, students may have one or more of the following as consequences for their actions (Some offenses will require an immediate referral.):
1. Warning
2. Parent contact: phone call/email
3. Referral to appropriate administrator
South Carolina Human Geography Standards:
● Standard 1: Demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth’s surface.
● Standard 2: Demonstrate an understanding of the conditions, interconnections, and levels of economic development across Earth’s surface.
● Standard 3: Demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of culture and cultural patterns and processes across Earth’s surface.
● Standard 4: Demonstrate an understanding of how cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth’s surface.
● Standard 5: Demonstrate an understanding of the distribution, function, patterns, and processes of human settlement across Earth’s surface.
South Carolina Human Geography Standards:
● Mapping: Identify, use, interpret, and construct local through global scale maps.
● Models and Representation: Identify, use, interpret, and construct geographic models and other visual representations from local to global scales.
● Gather Evidence and Communicate Findings: Identify, use, and interpret different forms of evidence, including primary and secondary sources, from local to global scales.
● Conditions, Connections, and Regions: Identify, compare, and evaluate the development of complex conditions, connections, and regions.
● Scale: Identify, compare, and interpret spatial hierarchies.
● Distribution and Patterns: Identify, analyze, and explain spatial distributions, patterns, and associations.
Units of Instruction (Topic order may change throughout the year.)
● Unit 1: Basic Geography Themes and Skills
● Unit 2: Population and Migration
● Unit 3: Culture
● Unit 4: Ethnicity and Political Geography
● Unit 5: Agricultural and Rural Land Use
● Unit 6: Economic Development
● Unit 7: Urban Land Use
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