Shaped

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

Latest Posts

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Teach Kids About Flattening the Curve on Coronavirus—with Activities

Population health researcher Drew Harris explains a simple chart that shows how staying home can slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

Earth Day Lesson Plans

Earth Day Lesson Plans: Teaching About the Environment

Use these Earth Day lesson plans to teach your students about the environment and sustainable practices in their daily lives.

Shaped Staff

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Teacher Op-Ed: Creating a Safe Space for Teaching Science in a Divided World

A high school science teacher in the Midwest offers her experience and best practices for discussing sensitive topics in the classroom—with tips for respecting all viewpoints while still reaching comprehension of scientific facts.

Shaped Contributor

How to Hold an Invention Convention in Your School

How to Hold an Invention Convention in Your School

Because research shows engineering can help students understand what they can do with the knowledge they learn in science, encouraging them to invent and create is a natural outcome.

Shaped Staff

New Years Resolutions Science

New Year's Resolutions Every Science Teacher Can Relate To

We are about to start a new year, and for science teachers, it’s another chance to make (and break) some resolutions.

Ann Pearson
Shaped Contributor

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Science Activities for the Classroom: 7 Indicator Recipes for Students

Download these activities to teach students about indicators, chemicals that “indicate” the presence or absence of a substance or check on the strength of a solution.

Shaped Staff

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Assess Students' Understanding of NGSS with These Engineering Activities

You can use these free online activities from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to gauge how well your students understand NGSS science concepts.

Dr. Cary Sneider
NGSS Writing Team Leader, Associate Research Professor at Portland State University

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Celebrate STEM Using Hands-On Experiments and Science Stories

On November 8 (and every day), try these quick, simple and easy STEM Day activities for elementary students—created by the Kitchen Pantry Scientist and author of STEAM project books, Liz Heinecke.

Liz Lee Heinecke
STEAM Author; The Kitchen Pantry Scientist

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Hands-On Science Activities for the Classroom: Let's Make Waves!

Help your students by challenging their misconceptions about waves with these activities that use easy-to-find materials and provide guiding questions and instructions for you.

Shaped Staff

Teaching Ngss Phenomena In The Science Classroom

Teaching NGSS: Phenomena in the Science Classroom

Using science phenomena can jumpstart instruction by helping students realize the real-world context of the topic to be studied. Start with this NGSS phenomena example.

Michael DiSpezio
Author, ScienceFusion and HMH Science Dimensions Programs

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Empowering Students to Protect the Environment: Teacher Tips

How do educators approach the topic of climate change and environmental protection? Teachers offer advice on how they empower their students.

Onalee Smith
Shaped Contributor

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Science Activities for the Classroom: Fun Recipes for Solutions and Materials

Teach students about chemical reactions, the properties of matter, and other science topics by having them participate in fun, collaborative hands-on activities.

Shaped Staff

August Tracy Childers 5

Podcast: Looping with a Classroom Family with Tracy Childers on Teachers in America

On Teachers in America, Tracy Childers, a science teacher at a STEM magnet middle school, talks about project-based learning, looping with his students, and considering retirement.

Onalee Smith
Shaped Contributor

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Shapebook Patterns: Science Evidence Notebooks for Elementary Students

Use these shapebook patterns as an engaging space for students to write their science observations and outstanding questions.

Shaped Staff

Hubbard Glacier

Disappearing Glaciers: A Lesson in Climate Change for Middle and High School

To teach climate change to students in Grades 5-12, consider using real-life examples of the effects, such as the loss of the Okjökull glacier in Iceland.

Ann Pearson
Shaped Contributor

June Prioritizing Content 3

Should We Rethink Literacy’s Role in How We Teach Science and Social Studies?

The author argues in support of teaching students how to think in terms of science and social studies with reading and writing as the tools they hone as they learn.

Heidi Cruz
Shaped Contributor

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Podcast: Budget Cuts, Burnout, and Self-Care with Georgette McClain on Teachers in America

On the Teachers in America podcast, Georgette McClain, a life sciences teacher in Blanchester, Ohio, talks about school safety, teacher salaries, and state testing.

Onalee Smith
Shaped Contributor

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NGSS Summative Assessments: Tips for Science Teachers

Activities that reflect 3D student learning can offer a clear picture of students’ progress toward achieving mastery of performance expectations.

Bernadine Okoro
2010–2011 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow, National Science Foundation Fellow

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