Shaped

A community-driven blog supporting educators, building lifelong learners, and shaping the future of education.* 

 

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Latest Posts

How to Promote Kindness in Our Kids

Former teacher and current HMH Chief Academic Officer Francie Alexander offers educators some tips on how to create a kindness movement in their classrooms and communities.

Francie Alexander
Senior Vice President, Efficacy & Consulting Research

WF1370450 Summer Slide HERO 1

Keep your students learning and engaged with these strategies and activities to prevent summer slide from HMH's Chief Research Officer.

Francie Alexander
Senior Vice President, Efficacy & Consulting Research

Groundhog Day Activities for Elementary Students Hero

Try these fun 2025 Groundhog Day activities for elementary students in your classroom.

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

Christine Darden, black scientist

Check out this list of famous black scientists today and during the 20th century, and distribute the posters of African American scientists to your students or hang them in your classroom.

Shaped Staff

WF1677151 Hero

Try these collecting data lesson plans for 1st and 2nd grade to introduce students to tally charts and other ways to collect and interpret data.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

WF1676736 Hero

Series of folding shapes activities for 1st and 2nd graders to practice symmetry and geometry concepts

Mikayla Capestrani
Educator

Alyssa Fuller
Math Intervention Teacher; Learning Experience Designer, HMH

The Science in Science Fiction A Strategy for Integrating Science and ELA HERO

Teaching sci-fi in the classroom can help students understand the importance of science in their daily lives.

Ann Pearson
Shaped Contributor

Choice boards differentiation hero

Try creating choice boards for students. These activity menus are a great way to differentiate learning, which can increase student engagement and improve academic outcomes.

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

Wf1071386 Goal Setting Hero Image Opt3

Ring in the new year by teaching practical goal-setting and self-management with your students.

Onalee Smith
Shaped Contributor

Fun Team Building Activities for Teachers and Staff HERO

Teachers in America podcast guest, Whitney Aragaki, shares her favorite fun team-building activities for teachers and staff!

Whitney Aragaki
Shaped Contributor

Two students in a classroom looking at a laptop

Try these real-life math problems with solutions in your classroom, which are open-ended projects with a range of possible answers.

Shaped Staff

WF1594551 Shaped 2022 Blog Post Breaking Numbers Apart Hero

Breaking numbers apart in math can have many mathematical meanings. See how to break numbers apart using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Alyssa Fuller
Math Intervention Teacher; Learning Experience Designer, HMH

Anti-Bullying Resources for Teachers: Removing the Risk of an Emotional Stampede

Help students avoid mistreatment in your classroom and school with these anti-bullying resources for teachers and information from bullying prevention organizations.

Noelle Morris
Senior Director Community Engagement, HMH; Host of HMH Learning Moments: Teachers in America Podcast

Fall activities and lesson plans for elementary students hero

Try these fall activities for elementary students in your classroom that put a twist on common fall themes.

Shaped Staff

Fractions blog post sample hero

Find out the solution to "is 2/3 more than 1/2?" along with an investigation into why and when the solution can change.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

artemis 1 launch hero

Try these space and constellation activities for elementary school science that are intended to work with the 2022 Artemis 1 rocket launch.

Alexa Dowlen
Learning Experience Design, K–12 Science

7 First-Day-of-School Activities for Middle School Science

Get back into science with these back-to-school activities for middle school science.

Shaped Staff

First-Day-of-School Get-to-Know-You Activities

Try these back-to-school getting-to-know-you activities to help students discover more about their classmates on the first day of class.

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor