Shaped

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

Latest Posts

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Why Are Teachers Striking? It's Time to Listen to Their Greatest Concerns

Why are teachers going on strike in cities across the U.S.? ICLE Senior Fellow Tyrone Howard assesses recent teacher strikes and the primary challenges educators face in the classroom.

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

Best Of Shaped

A Year in Review: Most-Read Shaped Blogs of 2019

In this selection of the most-read blog posts of 2019, we hear from middle school teachers, literacy and math experts, and a parent.

Christine Condon
Shaped Editor-in-Chief

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Media Literacy Op-Ed: I'm Worried but Hopeful

Dock, host of Shaping the Future, reflects on the recent podcast episode on media literacy.

Dr. David Dockterman
Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education

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An Hour of Code Activity: Celebrate Computer Science Education Week

What is the Hour of Code? Why is coding important for students to learn? Answer these questions and more with this 2020 Hour of Code Week activity.

Reynaldo Vargas

What Is A Community School

Building a Community School: How Local Partnerships Bring Success

What is a community school? The community school model allows schools to establish partnerships with local organizations and businesses for resources to benefit students.

MaryEllen Elia

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Teaching World Languages: The Co-Constructed Feedback Process (Pt. 2)

A Spanish teacher explores the benefits of implementing co-constructed feedback to promote positive classroom relationships.

Jori Greenhill
Spanish Teacher

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Teaching Mindfulness in the Classroom With Early Learners

Begin teaching mindfulness in the classroom with your early learners using this handy primer from a veteran teacher for practicing mindfulness in schools with your students.

Kim Block
Retired Teacher

Best Holiday Books For Kids

The Best Holiday Books for Kids to Celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah

This list of the best holiday books for kids can help you celebrate winter festivities in the classroom. These Hanukkah and Christmas books will also teach your students about religious traditions.

Susan Steinway
Archivist, HMH

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Teaching the Renaissance: World History Lesson Plan and Activities

Use this Renaissance lesson plan and activities for middle school and high school to teach your students about this era of cultural "rebirth" in the 14th to 17th centuries.

Jordan Friedman
Former Shaped Editor

How To Write A Praise Poem

New Wings: Writing Praise Poems in the Classroom

Poet Glenis Redmond says teaching students how to write a praise poem is a great way to dive into metaphors and similes and have them flex their creative muscles.

Glenis Redmond
Poet and Teaching Artist

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Interview: Author Paul Tough on the Complex World of College Admissions

Paul Tough dives into fascinating (and frustrating) discoveries and stories from his research into the complex system of college admissions and higher education.

Caitlin Henault
Senior Communications Associate, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Black Friday Classroom Activity and Lesson Plan: Teaching Math and Money

This Black Friday classroom activity can teach students about spending and budgeting as well as decimals and percentages. The Black Friday lesson plan is appropriate for elementary students.

Shaped Staff

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Teaching World Languages: The Co-Constructed Feedback Process (Pt. 1)

A veteran Spanish teacher shares how to build on a typical interpersonal speaking performance assessment in order to make it easy for others to implement co-constructed feedback in their own classrooms.

Jori Greenhill
Spanish Teacher

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Teaching Supreme Court Cases: Engel v. Vitale and Religion in Schools

Teach your students about a controversial Supreme Court decision in 1952 regarding the role that religion should play in public school classrooms.

Shaped Staff

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Podcast: Future Skills for Fact-Checking Online Fakes

Listen to a podcast on teaching media literacy in the classroom and developing effective media literacy programs in schools, featuring Katy Byron (MediaWise at Poynter) and Erik Palmer (author and former teacher).

Onalee Smith
Shaped Contributor

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How to Use Short Films as a Resource for Teaching World Languages

A Spanish language teacher provides tips for incorporating using short films as authentic, relevant resources in World Languages classes.

Karly Enright
Spanish Teacher

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Wordless Picture Books in the Classroom: Telling Stories Through Illustrations

Wordless picture books can teach kids to gather information from visual clues. These books with no words allow them to move from merely describing what is happening to narrating a story.

Susan Steinway
Archivist, HMH

Kindergarten Math Games And Activities

3 Kindergarten Math Games and Activities for the Classroom

These math activities for kindergarten focus on addition and counting. Use these kindergarten math games for the classroom to show how mathematics is found everywhere in students' world.

Shaped Staff

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