Shaped

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

 

OVER 10 MILLION READS

Featured Posts

Teacher being interviewed

Why HMH Performance Suite Is "Huge" for Liberty Elementary: A Conversation with Learning Director Lisa Nelson

Learn how HMH Performance Suite with Into Math helped Liberty Elementary students improve their math scores.

Read More
How to align instruction with the science of reading

How to Align Instruction with the Science of Reading

Discover five key principles that policymakers, district leaders, and educators should keep in mind to help drive stronger, more equitable literacy outcomes.

Read Now
Student with hand raised blog hero WF2367300

Classroom Rules and Procedures for Elementary Students

This blog explores one teacher’s take on classroom rules and procedures for elementary students—a one-rule classroom approach and the procedures that support it.

Beckah Sipes

Read More
WF2399100 Hero

6 Ways to Connect Core Instruction to Adaptive Learning and Tailored Intervention

With diverse learning needs and limits on teachers’ capacity int he classroom, here are six practical strategies for connecting core instruction to tailored intervention and adaptive practice.

Mary Resanovich

Read More
WF2338200 hero

How to Lesson Plan for New Teachers

Find helpful lesson planning tips and resources for new teachers.

Jennifer Corujo

Read More

Latest Posts

WF2285263 How to Teach Creative Hero

How to Teach Creative Writing

Asari Beale, writer, educator, and executive director of the Teachers & Writers Collaborative, shares tips for how to teach creative writing to students.

Asari Beale
Writer, Educator, and Executive Director of the Teachers & Writers Collaborative

Teacher with student in the classroom

Understanding the Academic Intervention Process

Learn how academic intervention can help close learning gaps and improve student academic achievement.

Donna Pappas
Regional Consultant, HMH

WF2420313 Math Meets Broadway Hero

Teaching Math Through Theater: 5 Activities

Get activity ideas to teach math through theater and learn about the math that happens on Broadway

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

Welcome back to school activities ideas for students HERO

5 Welcome-Back-to-School Activities and Ideas for Students

Try out these welcome-back-to-school activities and ideas for students to usher in the new school year.

Ali Habashi
Former Shaped Editor

Zoe Del Mar
Shaped Executive Editor

Bts icebreakers

2025 First-Day-of-School Icebreakers for All Grades

As you return to the classroom for back-to-school, try these 2025 first-day-of-school icebreaker activities to develop a sense of normalcy among students and build community.

Shaped Staff

Icebreakers High School Hero

13 First-Day-of-School Icebreakers for High School Students

These first-day-of-school icebreakers for high school students will help your class get to know one another while having fun.

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

Richard Blankman
Shaped Executive Editor

School Calendar Themes Hero

2025–2026 Monthly Calendar Themes for School

Check out these monthly calendar themes for school, complete with teaching resources for holidays and other days of significance for all grade levels.

Jordan Friedman
Former Shaped Editor

Zoe Del Mar
Shaped Executive Editor

WF2116107 Shaped 2024 Blog Post English 3 D Case Study

9 PBIS Incentives for High School Students

Explore 9 PBIS incentives for high school students that can promote positive reinforcement. Offer an easy and fun way to help manage behavior.

Mary Dean
Shaped Contributor

Juneteenth national freedom day hero image

6 Juneteenth Activities & Lesson Plans for Students

Celebrate Juneteenth in the classroom. Explore Juneteenth activities and lesson plans for elementary, middle school, and high school students.

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

WF2239013 Shaped 2025 Blog Post What Are Open Middle Math Problems Hero

What Are Open Middle Math Problems?

Find out what are Open Middle math problems, along with why to use them and resources to find them.

Robert Kaplinsky
Mathematics Educator, Long Beach, CA

WF2167411 Shaped 2025 Blog Post Miami Dade Customer Stories

Becoming Students’ Champion: How Miami-Dade Educators Support Student Success with Read 180 

Miami-Dade educators share how they guided and empowered students in becoming better readers with Read 180.

Jennifer Corujo
Shaped Editor

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Hero

6 Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Activities

Looking for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month ideas? We've got you covered with activities spanning Grades Pre-K–12.

Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor

2024 international literacy day activities for all ages hero

2025 International Literacy Day Activities for All Ages

Get students reading, writing, and learning more about the importance of literacy with these 2025 International Literacy Day activities.

Alicia Ivory
Shaped Editor

Activityset3

Grades 9-12 Math Activity Set: Geometric Probability and More

Help students build their skills in the areas of geometric probability, data displays, and matrices.

Shaped Staff

WF1995913 Shaped 2024 Classcraft blog migration images13

8 Creative Book Project Ideas to Replace the Traditional Book Report

Try these 8 creative book project ideas to engage your students! Motivate students to read while offering a refreshing break from traditional assignments.

Amanda Clark
Shaped Contributor

Blog Lit Language Arts Activities 9 12

Grades 9–12 ELA Activity Set 7: Memorize and Recite a Poem and More

With these downloadable activities, high schoolers will memorize and recite a poem, take notes as they read a novel, and memorialize a book in memes.

Famous Female Scientists

Celebrating Famous Women in Science Who Have Impacted the World

Teach students about eight famous women in science by downloading these posters. These women have contributed to fields ranging from engineering to astronomy to chemistry.

Shaped Staff

Activityset4

Grades 9–12 ELA Activity Set 4: Analyze Theme and More

Activities including creating a sketchnote, writing an ode to an everyday item, and analyzing the theme of a short story.

Shaped Staff

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

Shorty Audience Honor 1x1 png

Shorty Awards

Audience Honor, 2023, Shaped

Digiday Finalist Awards 1x1 png

Digiday Content Marketing Awards

Finalist, 2023, Shaped

Podcast Awards Peoples Choice Awards 1x1 png

People’s Choice Podcast Awards

Finalist, 2021 & 2023, Teachers in America

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