Our Top 10 Ed Blogs of 2021: The Best of Shaped

Social and emotional learning (SEL) has been top of mind this year. We asked fourth-grade teacher Perry Hollins to share how he leverages SEL to help his students navigate discussions about current events. His secret? He spends time at the beginning of the school year establishing social and emotional learning routines before diving into potentially fraught current events discussions—and that makes all the difference.

Looking to focus on student health and nutrition? We’ve got you covered! Our nutrition activities for elementary and middle school—and an additional post on nutrition for high school—will help students kick-start a commitment to healthy eating. And don’t miss our Math at Work Olympics: Post-Workout Smoothie downloadable activity!

A great way to get students excited about learning is through something they love, which includes highly anticipated sports events. High-profile examples include the Summer and Winter Games. Check out these engaging classroom activities that focus on social studies and English language arts for elementary and middle school students.

Educators, parents, and caregivers everywhere want to equip students with the tools they need to build a future for themselves—and to attain the ultimate goal we’re all striving toward: happiness. TED Talks guest and Happier author Tal Ben Shahar joined us on the Shaping the Future podcast to discuss the science of happiness and the role education can play in helping students lead fulfilling lives.

If you’re teaching ELA, you may have heard of Notice & Note Signposts, developed by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst, authors of Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading and Reading Nonfiction: Notice & Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies. In this Shaped blog, we offer eight strategies to introduce Notice & Note signposts to students and give tips on how to use them successfully. Be sure to download the free anchor charts, too!

The pandemic has taken its toll on students. We are seeing learning gaps widen and a heightened need for social and emotional learning. In this article, our chief research officer breaks down six ways to close the Covid-19 achievement gap. From leveraging digital tools to deepening family connections, you’ll find ways to improve student outcomes—both academically and socially.

The importance of building relationships is a theme that we’ve heard about from teachers again and again this year. Anytime you have students meeting classmates for the first time, you’ll want to have these strategies in your back pocket. You can visit our page with icebreakers for all grade levels. Or dive into one of this year's most popular posts with icebreakers for high schoolers; it will get students warmed up and ready to collaborate!

Math was a hot topic in 2021. Readers flocked to the Shaped blog for teaching tips on everything from order of operations and absolute value to ratios and rational numbers. A particularly popular blog was on teaching x- and y-axis graphing on coordinate grids.

Are you teaching middle school students? Do you need new classroom management strategies to get you through the day? We asked two strategy and instructional support officers from the San Diego Unified School District to share tips on how to best meet the needs of the adolescent brain. It’s a must-read for new and seasoned teachers alike!

Teachers in America podcast guest LaNesha Tabb teaches kindergarten in Indianapolis. Tabb discusses everything from self-care and finding work-life balance to how she engages the littlest learners in writing and social studies. Listen in or read the transcript.