About

Tony Vincent developed Shapegrams as a way for his students to become familiar with drawing tools. He soon realized that not only were Shapegrams fun, but they empowered his students to be designers.

Tony and his fifth grade colleagues piloted Shapegrams during the 2018-2019 school year. Each week students worked on a different Shapegram. While many struggled at first, by the middle of the school year, students were becoming experts at drawing almost anything in Googles Drawings. They transferred their skills to Google Slides and other apps. By the end of the year, students had a bank of their own clip art. They could create pictures they needed for a project. For example, they could whip up a diagram of the rock cycle from scratch—and it would look awesome and be completely original.

Doing Shapegrams every week mixed up the school year. Every Wednesday my whole class would all be excited to open our Chromebooks and see a challenge looking right back at us. Doing Shapegrams helped me understand Google Drawings and have a knowledge of making designs online. Shapegrams taught me to be creative and to find new ways around problems. I enjoy doing them, and I'm still making my own versions of pictures.

My students really enjoyed Shapegrams each week! Students were able to learn how to use Google drawings and create different objects using shapes. I was also able to learn about Google drawings with Shapegrams each week. By the end of the year, students were able to create their own images using shapes. It was one of our favorite morning routines!

Tony's weekly Shapegrams are expertly designed to guide kids every step of the way in making advanced pictures using Google Drawings. Each Shapegram includes all the tools kids need to create an appealing design, while instructing the kids on a particular skill or facet of Google Drawings. Because Tony incorporates fun facts, websites, and videos about each week's subject, Shapegrams cut across disciplines, giving kids a context to see their images as more than just pictures. Shapegrams are so engaging that kids don't even realize how much they are learning!

Teachers are always on the lookout for quality grab and go activities for students. Tony Vincent designed Shapegrams for his fifth graders as an activity they could do on their own while he worked with small groups. While Shapegrams kept his students busy, it wasn’t busywork. Students actively learned drawing skills while being creative problem solvers. His students looked forward to each Shapegram. They often continued working on Shapegrams in their free time.

Now Tony is making Shapegrams available to others. Each Shapegram includes an instructional video, design hints, and an extension activity. The first four Shapegram are freely available to anyone. A Shapegrams membership is required to access and distribute the other Shapegrams.