Shaped

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

 

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3 First-Day-Jitters Activities for Back-to-School

Ease the first-day-jitters! Explore three first-day-jitters activities that you can implement in your first grade classroom year after year.

Amanda Rack
First Grade Teacher, Knob Hill Elementary School

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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

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Conferring Is Differentiated Instruction: How to Hold Student Writing Conferences

Writing conferences are one-to-one conversations and give teachers a crucial opportunity to meet each student’s individual needs.

Carl Anderson
Author and Literacy Consultant

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Number Sense, What It Is and How to Develop It with Students

Singapore Math thought leader Andy Clark discusses the importance of developing number sense and shares classroom strategies.

Andy Clark
Math in Focus Grades 1-Course 3 U.S. Consultant and Course 2-Course 3 Writer

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Shifting to a Guided Math Workshop Model

Considering a shift to the guided math workshop model? Read tips for implementing a math workshop in your elementary or middle school classroom.

Erika Gilbert
Math AIS Teacher, Gillette Road Middle School

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

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6 Fun Math Activities for Middle School Students

Explore 6 fun math activities for middle school from HMH's GO Math! program. These middle school math games and projects for grades 6-8 will keep your students engaged.

Shaped Staff

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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

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Teaching Product of Prime Factors

In this lesson, use factor trees to teach students the concept that a composite number is written as a product of all of its prime factors.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

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Teaching World History: Ancient Greece—Worksheets and Activities

Known for its architecture, democratic system of government, and impact on science and the arts, ancient Greece is an important topic often covered in middle and high school social studies.

Shaped Staff

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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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Halloween Math Activities for Middle School and High School Students

Here are fun Halloween math activities for middle school and high school students. Try these activities to celebrate Halloween in your math classroom and ensure that your middle school and high school students can enjoy the holiday while in school.

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

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The Keys to Vocabulary: Word-Specific and Generative Instruction

Shane Templeton, HMH Journeys program consultant, shares how efficient and effective vocabulary instruction can inspire a curiosity and appreciation for words.

Dr. Shane Templeton
Foundation Professor Emeritus, Literacy Studies, University of Nevada, Reno; Into Reading Program Author

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Math Meets Culinary Arts: How Do Chefs Use Math in Their Job?

Learn about the role of math in cooking in the "Math Meets Culinary Arts" episode of HMH's Math at Work web series.

Shaped Staff

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Financial Literacy Lesson Plans and Activities for Middle School Students

Use these financial literacy lesson plans and activities for middle school to teach students about topics ranging from salaries to wages to creating a personal budget.

Shaped Staff

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Interactive Read-Aloud Strategies: Build Strong Relationships with Students

What is an interactive read-aloud? Learn interactive read-aloud strategies to build strong student-teacher relationships in the classroom.

Monica Fitzgerald
Reading AIS Teacher, Gillette Road Middle School

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Grades 3–5 Science Activities: Great Outdoors

Explore a variety of learning activities to engage students in scientific exploration of the great outdoors.

Shaped Staff

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Teaching World History: Absolute Monarchy Lesson Plan and Resources

Download this absolute monarchy lesson plan to teach your students about rulers including Frederick the Great and Louis XIV.

Jordan Friedman
Former Shaped Editor

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How to Prepare Elementary School Students for Algebra

Ease elementary school students' transition from arithmetic to algebra by introducing them to algebra concepts throughout the elementary grades.

Shaped Staff