Shaped

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

Featured Posts

Wayne Westland SD teachers in a classroom

A Fresh Approach to Intervention Is Boosting Achievement in a Michigan School District

Hear from educators about a new approach to intervention that’s raising student achievement in the Wayne-Westland Community School District, outside Detroit.

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Latonia GrantTeachers in America podcast

Podcast: Embracing Data and Planning with It Feat. Latonia Grant

Third grade teacher and HMH Teacher Ambassador Latonia Grant discusses how data has been a valuable tool in her planning and instruction. Plus she shares data-driven planning tips, like how to lead data talks with students and how to collaboratively plan with peers.

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Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples for Teacher and Student Success

Here we provide differentiated instruction strategies and examples that teachers can use to ensure students have choices for the way that they learn new information, practice skills, and demonstrate understanding.

Amber Silverman

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A Collaborative Learning Routine: What Is the Think-Pair-Share Strategy in Teaching?

Learn about what is think-pair-share in teaching and how to use this collaborative learning strategy in your classroom.

Dana Leon

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8 Spring Activities for Elementary Students

Happy spring! Need some engaging in-person and remote classroom activities to celebrate the season? Try these 8 spring activities for elementary students.

Alicia Ivory

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Latest Posts

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9 Summer Math Activities: Preventing Math Summer Slide

Try these 9 summer math activities designed for preventing math summer slide. These are repeatable games and activities appropriate for all children in any grade.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

Summer learning activities for elementary and middle school students

15 Fun Summer School Activities for Elementary and Middle School Students

As the school year ends, keep kids engaged with these fun summer school activities for elementary and middle school students.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

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9 Fun Easter Activities for Elementary and Middle School Students

Hop to it! Try these hands-on Easter activities for elementary and middle school students. Your class will have fun while sharpening reading, writing, and STEM skills.

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

Two children in the classroom counting

Magic and Mathematics: A Guess My Number Math Game

In this hands-on “Guess My Number Math Game” activity for students in kindergarten and up, students can thrill and awe their peers with a mathematical magic trick.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

Fun Christmas Activities School

9 Fun Christmas Activities for School

Try our fun Christmas classroom activities for school. 'Tis the season to be jolly—while boosting math, reading, and writing skills, of course!

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

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9 National Hispanic Heritage Month Activities for Students: A Celebration of Culture

Use these National Hispanic Heritage Month activities and lesson ideas to honor Hispanic American contributions and influences in our society.

Daniel Poremba
Senior Tier II Specialist, HMH

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Collecting Data Lesson Plans for 1st and 2nd Grade

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

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Folding Shape Activities to Practice Geometry

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

Two students in a classroom looking at a laptop

Real-Life Math Problems with Solutions

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

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

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8 Fall Activities & Lesson Plans for Elementary Students

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

Shaped Staff

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Lesson on Comparing Fractions: Is 2/3 More Than 1/2?

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

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

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

WF1594101 How to Estimate Length Hero

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

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

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Estimate the Volume of a Rectangular Prism Lesson Plan

Estimate the Volume of a Rectangular Prism in this activity from HMH's Into Math.

Shaped Staff

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Factor in Fun! 3 Factor Games for the Classroom

Try a factor game to practice finding factors and getting practice with multiplication.

Nicole Kirksey

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