Shaped

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

 

OVER 10 MILLION READS

Latest Posts

WF1995913 Shaped 2024 Classcraft blog migration images13

How to Make Cross-Curricular Teaching Part of Your Lesson Plan: 7 Steps

Learn about cross-curricular teaching. Cross-curricular instruction helps students make connections and gives relevance to the subjects and skills they are learning.

Jenny Fulton
Shaped Contributor

WF1126516 Hero

Podcast: On Embracing Native Culture in Alaska with Danielle Riha

Meet Danielle Riha, a middle school teacher at the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School in Anchorage. She is passionate about equity, indigenous languages, and culturally relevant lessons. She was the Alaska Teacher of the Year and one of four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year Award in 2019.

Ali Habashi
Former Shaped Editor

100th day posters

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

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

Tyrone Howard Hero 4 1

7 Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies and Instructional Practices

Implement these culturally responsive teaching strategies and instruction practices in the classroom to help students feel included, validated, valued, and safe.

Dr. Tyrone C. Howard
Professor, UCLA; Senior Fellow, The Center for Model Schools; HMH Learning Sciences & Research Advisory Board

Virtual classroom management tips hero

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

WF1126567 Hero

Podcast: A Seat at the Peace Table with Karen Johnston

Meet Karen Johnston, an elementary school teacher at Harriet Tubman Montessori in New Orleans, Louisiana. Karen helps build a comfortable and open learning environment for her students by utilizing student-directed activities in mixed grade level classes.

Ali Habashi
Former Shaped Editor

WF1295705 Hero Banner

7 Kwanzaa Activities for Elementary Students

Joyous Kwanzaa! Introduce your students to the principles, symbols, and traditions this holiday has to offer with these Kwanzaa activities and lesson plans for elementary students.

Ali Habashi
Former Shaped Editor

Just in time vs just in case scaffolding hero

Just-in-Time vs. Just-in-Case Scaffolding: How to Foster Productive Perseverance

Dr. Juli K. Dixon
Professor of Mathematics Education; Elementary, Middle, Secondary, and Post-Secondary Mathematics Education

3rd grade math activities hero banner

Fun 3rd Grade Math Games & Activities for the Classroom

Try these fun 3rd grade math games and activities in your classroom! These 8 games, activities, and puzzles will help your students love learning math and see how 3rd grade math ideas show up in the real world.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

WF1995913 Shaped 2024 Classcraft blog migration images21

5 Free Kindness Activities for the Classroom

Celebrate World Kindness Day with 5 free kindness activities for the classroom. Encourage empathy, inclusion and acceptance.

Corrinna Pole
Shaped Contributor

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

Ecr hero

Perceptions of the State of Teaching: Our 6th Annual Educator Confidence Report

Our annual report brings to the forefront educators' views on the state of K–12 education, their profession, and what their students need.

John "Jack" Lynch
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, HMH

Edtech trends

The Latest Trends in Educational Technology

Explore eight of the latest trends in educational technology—including differentiation, the use of big data, and virtual reality—as digital tools become more important than ever in K-12 education.

Jordan Friedman
Former Shaped Editor

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

David oconnor

Don't Just Teach About Cultures—Teach Culturally. Here's the Difference

Teaching culturally means that the educator acts as a guide for students and is actively learning alongside them in their understanding of the content.

David J. O’Connor
American Indian Studies Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

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