Shaped

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

 

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Collaborative learning strategies and techniques

Grow Beyond Group Work: Collaborative Learning Strategies and Techniques

Use these collaborative learning techniques to teach social and emotional skills during the school day and help students build strong relationships.

Jessica McKeown, PhD
HMH Senior Learning Scientist, Math and Science

Getting students to think like scientists

Getting Your Students to Think Like Scientists: 3 Downloadable Posters

Download Think Like a Scientist posters for your classroom. Getting students comfortable thinking like scientists is no small feat, but it's the best way to teach science.

Shaped Staff

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10 Motivational Activities Before Starting a Lesson

Explore 10 motivational activities before starting a lesson. Motivational activities for students are a great way to break the ice at the beginning of class.

Mary Dean
Shaped Contributor

MSC2019 Audience

The Value of Professional Communities for Teachers: Reflecting on Model Schools

Attending conferences can be an invaluable resource in a teacher's toolkit, presenting new opportunities to build relationships and expand a professional learning network.

Erika Gilbert
Math AIS Teacher, Gillette Road Middle School

Cynthia Ciesla
5th and 6th Grade AIS Reading and Math Teacher, Gillette Road Middle School

HMH Elementary 2017 48114

All About Me Activities: Celebrate What Makes You 'Different'

Explore All About Me activities for elementary and middle school students. Help your students to celebrate what makes them different.

Onalee Smith
Shaped Contributor

Shapes patterns arrangements

Shapes, Patterns, and Arrangements: Math Activities for Preschoolers

Since your students have a basic knowledge of colors and shapes, Pre-K is a good year to start tackling concepts such as patterns.

Shaped Staff

Charlemagne Middle Ages Activities

Teaching World History: The Early Middle Ages—Worksheets and Activities

Use these downloadable resources to teach students about Charlemagne and the Early Middle Ages.

Shaped Staff

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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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Back to the Language Basics: We Never Learned That!

How do you continue to grow your students’ proficiency in the target language when time must be spent reteaching the basics? A world languages teacher offers three free classroom activities to help teachers navigate possible gaps in curriculum.

Jori Greenhill
Spanish Teacher

The Benefits of Students Spending More Time with Family

Learn about the benefits of students spending time with family and how to use technology to connect.

Marie Swan
Shaped Contributor

WF926906 Shaped 2019 Blog Posts September Loopingin Education

What is 'Looping' In Education?: A Teacher’s Perspective

A middle school science teacher on the benefits of looping with his students and building a family in the classroom.

Tracy Childers
Middle School Science Teacher, Foothills Community School

Drug test in high school athletics

Teaching Supreme Court Cases: Drug Testing in High School Athletics

Use this resource to teach a Supreme Court case surrounding drug testing in K–12 schools and the Fourth Amendment.

Shaped Staff

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Teach SEL with Carmen Sandiego’s Fearless Kids Around the World

You don’t need to leave your school to take your class on an international field trip. In our new web series, Carmen Sandiego spotlights six real kids who are creating positive change in their communities.

Shaped Staff

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Educating the Whole Child: Building Teacher-Student Relationships That Last

To build positive teacher-student relationships in the classroom, focus on being personable, setting high expectations, and making learning fun.

Venola Mason
Associate Partner, ICLE and Author, Instructional Excellence, Social and Emotional Learning

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62 Check for Understanding Strategies to Use During a Lesson

Explore 62 check for understanding strategies to use during a lesson that enhance student engagement, identify knowledge gaps, and foster effective learning.

Timothy Mugabi
Shaped Contributor

August Coaching Using Video Final

Using Video to Improve Instruction: Strategies for Administrators and Coaches

These are among the easiest and most meaningful ways to improve instruction by allowing teachers to reflect on video footage of their own instruction.

Shaped Staff

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How to Check for Understanding in a Lesson Plan

Learn how to check for understanding in a lesson plan. Let’s take a closer look at formative assessment and how it can help your students to achieve highly.

Marie Swan
Shaped Contributor

WF926906 Shaped 2019 Blog Posts September Science Recipes 3 190916 180936 4c284b73b1b0834026b992b9ac93d6bd

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

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