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Shaped

The learners of today will shape 

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

Latest Posts

Plcs reimagined a fresh approach to teacher collaboration hero

PLCs in Education Reimagined: A Fresh Approach to Teacher Collaboration

What is PLC in education, and what makes professional learning communities effective? Discover best practices for ensuring success with PLCs.

Dr. Lisa Corbin
Instruction & Leadership Coach

Albert Morton
Professional Learning Consultant, HMH

Structured Literacy small group reading

What Is Structured Literacy?

Get the answers to commonly asked questions like, "What is structured literacy and how can I implement the approach?"

Renee Behring
Education Research Director, Core ELA

Dr. Amy Endo
Education Research Director, Supplemental & Intervention Language & Literacy

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A History of Pi: Global Calculations

A history of pi is given, showing how mathematicians across the West and East have contributed to our understanding of the constant pi.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

SEL Remote Learning Activities

5 Virtual SEL Activities for Remote Learning

Share these SEL remote activities with your students at home to help them develop SEL skills, like self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and responsible decision-making.

Zoe Del Mar
Shaped Executive Editor

Hannah French Outdoor Teaching Hero

7 Outdoor Teaching Strategies

Thinking of teaching outside of the classroom? Make the most of your school's location with these outdoor teaching strategies.

Hannah French
Teacher, Rowe Elementary School, MA

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Podcast: The Freedom in Reading for Quarantined Kids with Kitty Donohoe

Elementary teacher Kitty Donohoe joins us for a discussion on reading, looping with her class, and her debut children’s novel, How to Ride a Dragonfly.

Ali Habashi
Former Shaped Editor

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Maximizing Instructional Time in the Classroom

Get strategies for maximizing instructional time in the classroom to meet your teaching goals and each student’s needs.

Jennifer Prescott
Shaped Contributor

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Pearl Harbor Activities for Elementary and Middle School Students

Give a lesson on the significance of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day with these Pearl Harbor activities for elementary and middle school students.

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

Respect Teachers hero

Building Respect for Teachers: What Can Be Done?

Our latest Educator Confidence Report shows many teachers don't feel that respect for the profession has increased in the last year, after feeling an initial surge of appreciation at the start of the pandemic. Here’s what can be done.

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

Infusing Multiple Narratives in History Classrooms: Native American Studies

Infusing Multiple Narratives in History Classrooms: Native American Studies

How do we reframe our pedagogy to incorporate multiple narratives within our classrooms? We can start with three building blocks: reading, content integration, and scaffolding of information.

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

Paul ST Rykken
Lecturer, First Nations Studies Department, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

WF1297153 Shaped Hero 1

2024 National Novel Writing Month: Turning Students into Excited Writers

In November, National Novel Writing Month begins for thousands of writers around the world. At the same time, many teachers introduced their classrooms to the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program, and found their students developing a new-found passion for creative writing.

Ali Habashi
Former Shaped Editor

Importance of classroom community hero

The Importance of Classroom Community

Students need to believe that they belong in their learning environment. Learn about the importance of classroom community—and ways to foster positivity.

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

Teaching mean median mode tally chart hero

Teaching Mean, Median & Mode Graphing Using a Dot Plane

Teach your students about the different ways to describe data, including the concepts of mean (average), median, and mode.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

Student proudly wearing future voter badge

Election 2021: How Can You Teach the Election Process to Elementary Students?

Discover helpful tips for teaching the election process to elementary students and how important voting is in a democratic society.

LaNesha Tabb
Kindergarten Teacher, Indianapolis, IN

Research insights on online and blended coaching hero

Research Insights: Online and Blended Coaching

Research suggests that online coaching has several strengths, including lowering costs while increasing scalability, which makes it overall effective.

Dr. Grant Atkins
Education Research Director, Professional Services

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Teaching x- and y-Axis Graphing on Coordinate Grids

Teach students about graphing along the x and y axis on coordinate graphs as a visual method for showing relationships between numbers.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

Podcast cover with Hannah French

Podcast: The Benefits of Outdoor Teaching with Hannah French

Meet fourth grade teacher Hannah French, who has moved many of her classes into the woods nearby. There, students engage in location-specific challenges, journaling, and free play.

Ali Habashi
Former Shaped Editor

Teaching Media Literacy in the Classroom hero

4 Tips for Teaching Media Literacy in the Classroom

How media literate are you? Take our quiz, then try our four tips for teaching media literacy in the classroom.

Erik Palmer
Program Consultant, Into Reading and Into Literature

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