Shaped

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

 

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Grades 6–8 Science Activities: Conservation

Explore a variety of scientific learning activities to engage students in environmental conservation.

Shaped Staff

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Teaching Students How to Write a Persuasive Paragraph

Teaching kids how to write a persuasive paragraph consisting of their opinion and supporting sentences puts them on the right track to being an effective communicator.

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

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Tips for Remote Learning Without Internet Access

Every school year brings technological challenges, but remote learning without internet is an entirely new type of challenge. Yet students still need teaching. There are students who do not have reliable—if any!—internet access.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

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100 Days of School: Poster Ideas for Teachers

Use these 100th Day of School poster ideas to celebrate your students’ achievements so far this year. As a project, you can also ask students to create their own!

Jordan Friedman
Former Shaped Editor

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Teaching Students How to Write an Expository Paragraph

Want to help your students develop their organizational, analytical, and research skills? Teach them how to write an expository paragraph.

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

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Teacher Appreciation Week Ideas from Principals and Administrators

Looking for the perfect way to say “Thank-you” to educators? We’ve collected Teacher Appreciation Week ideas from principals and administrators across the country. Feel free to steal or revamp them as you please.

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

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Pi Day Scavenger Hunt for Middle School Students

Celebrate Pi Day with a Pi Day scavenger hunt for middle school students. Have students scour the classroom for objects relating to the number pi.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

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Inspiring Black History Month Classroom Door Decoration Ideas

Use these Black History Month classroom door decoration ideas to honor the achievements of African Americans throughout history and shed light on the triumphs and challenges they have faced.

Jordan Friedman
Former Shaped Editor

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Teaching Prime Factorization of 36

When a composite number (like 36) is written as a product of all of its prime factors, we have the prime factorization of the number.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

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8 High School Veterans Day Activities and Lesson Plan Ideas

Bring the experiences of U.S. military service members to life for your students with our high school Veterans Day activities and lesson plan ideas.

Jordan Friedman
Former Shaped Editor

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

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Math at Work: Meet Industry Experts to Explore Jobs That Involve Math

Explore HMH's Math at Work web series to hear insights from industry experts about jobs that involve math and more.

Shaped Staff

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Teaching with Math Place-Value Charts

A place-value system is one in which the position of a digit in a number determines its value, and a place-value chart is a way to make sure digits are in the correct places.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

WF2161300 Shaped 2025 Blog Post Free Graphic Organizers Update hero

Free Graphic Organizer Templates

Use these free graphic organizer templates to help your students communicate more effectively by classifying ideas, structuring writing projects, and more.

Zoe Del Mar
Shaped Executive Editor

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What Is Student-Centered Coaching? Consider These Examples

What is student-centered coaching? To meet students’ individual needs, teachers may consider coaching that analyzes data and formulates student-centered goals.

Michelle Smith
Professional Services Consultant, HMH

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Black Friday Classroom Activity and Lesson Plan: Teaching Math and Money

This Black Friday classroom activity can teach elementary students about spending and budgeting as well as decimals and percentages.

Shaped Staff

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What Is Oral Reading Fluency?

This article answers the question, what is oral reading fluency? It provides fluency teaching strategies after defining fluency and explaining why it's important.

Dr. Amy Endo
Education Research Director, Supplemental & Intervention Language & Literacy

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Teaching Flat Plane Shapes and Solid Shapes

Teach students about plane shapes, or closed, two-dimensional figures, and solid shapes, which include many of the everyday objects with which students are familiar.

Shaped Staff

What is translanguaging

What Is Translanguaging in the Classroom?

What is translanguaging? Learn the definition of translanguaging and strategies for translanguaging in the multilingual classroom.

Drs. Yvonne and David Freeman
Authors, On Our Way to English, Professors Emeriti, University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley