Shaped

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

Latest Posts

WF1289060 Shaped 2020 Revamp Grade 1 2 Science

Free Science Activities for 1st and 2nd Grade

Use these science activities for 1st and 2nd grade to get kids conducting experiments and labs, observing sunset patterns, and exploring ways to reuse items.

Shaped Staff

WF1289060 Shaped 2020 Revamp Grade 1 2 Math

Free Math Activities for 1st and 2nd Grade

These hands-on math activities for 1st and 2nd grade will enable young learners to solve word problems, add numbers, complete and create patterns, and much more.

Shaped Staff

Free Reading Activities for 1st and 2nd Grade

Free Reading Activities for 1st and 2nd Grade

With these free reading activities for 1st and 2nd grade, you can engage young learners in topics ranging from incredible insects to the great outdoors.

Shaped Staff

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Virtual Rewards for Students in the Online Classroom

Looking for ideas for virtual rewards for students in the online classroom? Try these incentives to ensure students have fun in the online classroom. These ideas offer ways to reward individual students or entire classes.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

WF1301354 How Teachers Are Handling Remote In Person Back to School Hero1

What It's Like to Be a Teacher in the COVID–19 Era

We talked with educators across the country about the challenges they’re facing in this unusual school year and the lessons they’ve learned so far. Here's what they had to say.

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

Teachers satisfied jobs

Are Teachers Satisfied With Their Jobs During COVID-19? Here's What Our Data Says

During the ongoing pandemic, are teachers satisfied with their jobs given the challenges being thrown their way? Our annual survey explores educators' areas of optimism and concern.

Jordan Friedman
Former Shaped Editor

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10 Virtual Classroom Management Strategies

When teaching is happening in an online classroom, classroom management looks very different. Need tips to make your online classroom a success? Try these 10 virtual classroom management strategies.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

Reading remote learning

4 Ways to Align Reading Instruction to a Remote Learning Environment

In remote learning, the context in which educators are teaching reading has changed, but the underlying principles of learning have not.

Kathleen Richards
Former HMH Senior Learning Scientist, ELA and Humanities

Differentiation remote learning

Why Is Differentiated Instruction Important During COVID-19?

Research says targeted, differentiated instruction is a powerful way to address learning loss and teach new material—even in a remote classroom setting.

Rachel L. Schechter, PhD
VP Learning Sciences, Learning Sciences and Research Advisory Board Chair

South side school

Why and How This School Changed Its Mission Statement During COVID-19

An elementary school principal discusses how he worked to ensure that the words in his school's mission statement reflected his staff's actions during the transition to remote learning.

David Huber
Principal, South Side Elementary School, Connecticut

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Podcast: Retiring During COVID-19 with Karl Grubaugh

Meet Karl Grubaugh, a former AP economics teacher and advanced journalism advisor at Granite Bay High School in California. A journalist and editor himself, Karl advised for the award-winning student newspaper The Granite Bay Gazette, and retired in 2020 after almost 40 years as an educator.

Ali Habashi
Former Shaped Editor

Instructional materials

4 Signs of High-Quality Instructional Materials

Learn why educators nationwide should assess their instructional programs to determine whether they are designed to help students overcome learning loss due to COVID-19.

Dr. Donald Bucolo
Education Research Director, Core STEM

Renee Behring
Education Research Director, Core ELA

Remote learning schedule

Learning from Home: Remote Teaching Schedule and Tips for Grades K–3

Get tips on building a daily remote teaching schedule for young students learning from home amid COVID-19.

Adam Drummond, EdD
Associate Partner, The Center for Model Schools and Author, Instructional Leadership

Sharon Biava Minisode Hero

Podcast: Virtual Learning During COVID-19 with Sharon Biava

Sharon Biava joins us once again to discuss virtual learning during COVID-19, and how she adapted to her new digital classroom with the help of her students. A 4th grade math teacher at Silver Lakes Elementary in Florida, Sharon is passionate about literacy, civics, and equity for all students.

Ali Habashi
Former Shaped Editor

Online Learning Day blog

The Year of Online Learning: Remote Teaching Tips from 5 Educator Influencers

Meet some of the great educators whose remote teaching strategies can help you step up your online learning game this fall.

Christine Condon
Shaped Editor-in-Chief

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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

Benefits disadvantages looping

The Benefits and Disadvantages of Looping in Education

Explore the benefits and disadvantages of looping in education, where groups of children up from one grade to the next with the same teacher.

Tracy Childers
Middle School Science Teacher, Foothills Community School

Remote assessment fall

What Will Assessment Look Like This Fall in K-12 Education?

Learn how the dynamics of an assessment system will need to adapt when students are participating in a virtual classroom.

Dr. Vytas Laitusis
Education Research Director, Supplemental & Intervention Math

Kathleen Richards
Former HMH Senior Learning Scientist, ELA and Humanities

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