Build Community · Share Ideas · Reflect & Reset · Welcome & Belong
Six Words, Whole Campus
One prompt, one shared wall, and a version that scales from kindergarten through senior year.
Time10–25 minutes
Group size5+ people
FormatIndividual, Whole group, Gallery walk
MaterialsIdentical index cards, Pens, pencils, and drawing materials, Display wall, Optional word bank
What this accomplishes
Every classroom responds to the same campus-wide prompt using a tight word constraint: three words with teacher scribing for K–1 and exactly six words for older students and staff. Responses share one visual format and build a cross-grade community display.
- Create a shared campus voice across grade levels
- Practice concise reflection and revision
Before you begin
Materials
- Identical index cards
- Pens, pencils, and drawing materials
- Display wall
- Optional word bank
Preparation
- Choose one safe campus-wide prompt
- Create one short instruction sheet per grade band
- Select a public display location and anonymous submission process
- Run the same prompt with staff before student rollout
What to say
“Everyone is answering the same prompt, but the support changes by age. The wall is anonymous, jokes are allowed if they are kind, and nobody has to explain or claim a response.”
How to run it
- 1
K–1: students choose three spoken words; the teacher scribes and students illustrate.
- 2
Grades 2–3: students write six words with an optional word bank and drawing.
- 3
Grades 4–5: students draft freely, then revise to exactly six words.
- 4
Middle school: students create three drafts and post the final card unsigned for a silent gallery walk.
- 5
High school: students create three drafts and add a private or optional one-line explanation of one word.
- 6
Staff complete the same prompt before rollout and post responses in the shared format.
- 7
Add cards to the display throughout the week and leave the wall up long enough to become part of the campus.
Prompts to use
What I want this year to be
What you should know about me
What this school gets right about me
Something I have changed my mind about
What I am taking with me
What we are when we are good
Adapt it to the room
Small group
Create one classroom wall and revisit it after a week.
Large group
Use identical cards and multiple clearly labeled collection points without identifying grade levels.
Virtual
Use one moderated anonymous board with identical card formatting.
Accessibility & inclusion
- Offer scribing, dictation, AAC, word banks, drawing, typing, and private submission.
- Keep cards anonymous and visually uniform across grades.
- Avoid prompts requiring disclosure about home, family, money, identity, or trauma.
Debrief, if useful
What patterns appear across the wall?
Which six-word response made you pause without needing to know who wrote it?
What does the campus seem to value or need right now?
Why it works—and what can go wrong
Why it works
A shared constraint produces genuine cross-grade coherence without asking every classroom to use the same script, timing, or developmental expectations.
Watch out for
- Do not identify grade levels or authors on the display unless they choose it.
- Post kind jokes alongside serious responses so authenticity is not mistaken for required vulnerability.
- Moderate cards for safety without polishing away student voice.