Shaped

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

 

OVER 10 MILLION READS

Featured Posts

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Why HMH Performance Suite Is "Huge" for Liberty Elementary: A Conversation with Learning Director Lisa Nelson

Learn how HMH Performance Suite with Into Math helped Liberty Elementary students improve their math scores.

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How to align instruction with the science of reading

How to Align Instruction with the Science of Reading

Discover five key principles that policymakers, district leaders, and educators should keep in mind to help drive stronger, more equitable literacy outcomes.

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Classroom Rules and Procedures for Elementary Students

This blog explores one teacher’s take on classroom rules and procedures for elementary students—a one-rule classroom approach and the procedures that support it.

Beckah Sipes

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6 Ways to Connect Core Instruction to Adaptive Learning and Tailored Intervention

With diverse learning needs and limits on teachers’ capacity int he classroom, here are six practical strategies for connecting core instruction to tailored intervention and adaptive practice.

Mary Resanovich

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How to Lesson Plan for New Teachers

Find helpful lesson planning tips and resources for new teachers.

Jennifer Corujo

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Latest Posts

WF2396113 Shaped 2025 Blog Post Day of the Dead Activities for Students

Día de los Muertos: 6 Day of the Dead Activities for Teachers

Discover 6 fun and educational Day of the Dead activities perfect for engaging students in grades K–6.

Zoe Del Mar
Shaped Executive Editor

WF2408576 Shaped 2025 Blog Post Fun Substitute Teacher Ideas Activities Hero

Fun Substitute Teacher Ideas and Activities 

Find fun and easy-to-use substitute teacher ideas and activities, including a free Substitute Teacher Activities pack, to prepare for your next personal day.

Jennifer Corujo
Shaped Editor

WF2367350 Middle School Classroom Jobs Hero

Middle School Classroom Jobs

Learn how to make classroom jobs work for your middle school students and find creative classroom job ideas.

Jennifer Corujo
Shaped 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

WF2315255 Shaped 2025 Blog Post Phonological Awareness Examples Hero

Phonological Awareness Examples

Learn more about research-backed phonological awareness examples and activities.

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

WF2367376 Shaped 2025 Blog Post Phonological Awareness Activities V2

9 Fun Phonological Awareness Activities

Learn to support all learners with these 9 phonological awareness activities that make literacy skill-building both fun and impactful.

Amber Silverman
Shaped Contributor

WF1773850 Shaped 2023 Blog Post Halloween Writing Prompts Hero

35 Fun Halloween Writing Prompts & Ideas

Have some spooky fun with your students while exercising their critical thinking skills using these Halloween writing prompts and journal ideas.

Carey Blankenship-Kramer
Shaped Staff

WF2255614 Shaped 2025 Blog Post Math Center Ideas Hero

7 Classroom Math Center Ideas and Activities

Classroom math center ideas and activities for K-8 students to engage in small-group math activities.

Ana Berry
Instructional Designer, HMH

WF2420313 Math Meets Broadway Hero

Teaching Math Through Theater: 5 Activities Where Math Meets Broadway

Get activity ideas to teach math through theater and learn about the math that happens on Broadway

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

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13 Fun Classroom Team-Building Activities 

Build a collaborative environment and strong student relationships with these fun classroom team-building activities.

Irene Yimmongkol

Welcome back to school activities ideas for students HERO

5 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

Zoe Del Mar
Shaped Executive Editor

Bts icebreakers

2025 First-Day-of-School Icebreakers for All Grades

As you return to the classroom for back-to-school, try these 2025 first-day-of-school icebreaker activities to develop a sense of normalcy among students and build community.

Shaped Staff

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Bill of Rights Activity to Celebrate Bill of Rights Day with Your Students

Explore our Bill of Rights activity and lesson plan idea to engage students in civic learning through persuasive writing.

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

Onalee Smith
Shaped Contributor

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9 Back-to-School Science Activities for Elementary Students

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

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

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Video: Teaching Math with Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Use this video to teach numbers and expressions in math class by investigating how different numbers look around the world and throughout history at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

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2025 Back-to-School Articles for Educators

Bookmark this page featuring our 2025 back-to-school articles for educators. It’s filled with the resources you need to start the school year off strong, from prepping for the first day, to classroom management strategies, and more.

Shaped Staff

Icebreakers High School Hero

13 First-Day-of-School Icebreakers for High School Students

These first-day-of-school icebreakers for high school students will help your class get to know one another while having fun.

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

Ready to Learn: 11 Free Bell Ringers for Middle School, students sitting at a desk completing their bell ringers

Ready to Learn: 11 Free Bell Ringers for Middle School

Prepare students for learning with these 11 free bell ringers for middle school.

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

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Shorty Awards

Audience Honor, 2023, Shaped

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Digiday Content Marketing Awards

Finalist, 2023, Shaped

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People’s Choice Podcast Awards

Finalist, 2021 & 2023, Teachers in America

*The views expressed in our blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.