Shaped Blog

Welcome back to school activities ideas for students HERO

4 Welcome-Back-to-School Activities and Ideas for Students

Try out these welcome-back-to-school activities and ideas for students to usher in the new school year.

Ali Habashi
Former Shaped Editor

August 24, 2022

Be a Wavemaker: Model Schools Conference 2022 Recap

Model Schools Conference is an annual event for connecting student-focused educators. Get the highlights of MSC 2022.

Dr. Linda Lucey
Associate Partner, The Center for Model Schools

Matthew Thouin
Lead Instructional Designer, ICLE

August 16, 2022

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

7 Back-to-School Activities for Middle School Science

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

Shaped Staff

August 15, 2022

Podcast: Being Bold and Wishing for Change with Kyle Schwartz in Denver, CO for Teachers in America

Teacher and author of "I Wish My Teacher Knew", Kyle Schwartz, discusses how she helps students feel empowered to make a difference.

Christine Condon
Shaped Editor-in-Chief

August 11, 2022

Back to school science activities for elementary students hero

7 Back-to-School Science Activities for Elementary Students

Explore these back-to-school science activities and experiments for the first day of science class.

Shaped Staff

August 1, 2022

How to Integrate Writing Across the Curriculum hero

How to Integrate Writing Across the Curriculum in Your Classroom

Whether you’re teaching math, science, social studies, or ELA, writing can be a great way to assess students’ learning and deepen their thinking on a subject. Here's how to incorporate writing across the curriculum in your classroom.

Dr. Troy Hicks
Professor of English and Education, Central Michigan University

July 29, 2022

First-Day-of-School Checklist for Teachers

Our first-day-of-school checklist for teachers will help get the new school year off to a great start.

Katie Risolo Radovich
First-Grade Teacher, Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York

July 26, 2022

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

9 Back-to-School Getting-to-Know-You Activities for Students

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

July 25, 2022

Female student smiling in elementary classroom

6 Math Icebreakers: Games and Activities for All Grades

These math icebreakers are games and activities that span all grades to help math teachers get students practicing math while getting to know one another.

Shaped Staff

July 22, 2022

6 Student-Centered Instructional Strategies

Learn about student-centered instructional strategies that are common across a wide variety of learner-centered classrooms.

Dr. Phil Vahey
Director of Applied Learning Sciences, HMH

July 21, 2022

Who’s Doing the Work? Developing Math Muscles

Who is doing the work and overcoming obstacles in order to develop math muscles?

Jennifer Lenhardt
Lead Instructional Designer, HMH Professional Services

July 21, 2022

How to Estimate Length: Spark Your Learning Activity

Get step-by-step instructions on how to elicit thoughtful questions and responses to tasks that ask students to estimate length.

Shaped Staff

July 20, 2022

Two children in a school classroom looking at flash cards

How to Teach Multiplying Fractions

Students will learn how to represent multiplication of fractions by drawing visual models, analyzing hypothetical examples of student work, and creating equations.

Shaped Staff

June 27, 2022