6 Word Story - Creating A Program Mission Statement

Keynote - the application that gets categorized as Apple’s version of Power Point to users who don’t dive in and look below the surface. Transparency moment? I was once one of those people. However, that quickly changed once we brought Apple into our Boys & Girls Club!

 

You all may be familiar with the Apple Create Activity: 6 Word Story. Such a simple activity but it can certainly have a huge impact! For us, we took that activity and used it to create an engaging and creative Mission Statement for our Learn2Lead Crew. Learn2Lead is a middle and high school leadership program that we run in my Club. These are members who have grown up through the Boys & Girls Club and have now chosen to step into the role of leader and help put on special activities and programs for their fellow Club members and serving in the community. The first few weeks of this program require a lot of team building and expectation setting. That’s where this activity comes in. 

As an almost teacher, my first instinct is to reach for the chart paper and Mr. Sketch markers! However, this activity challenged me to think creatively. Especially for our older members, I had to find a way to bring an activity like assembling a mission statement to life. Cue: 6 Word Stories.

 

Through this lesson, members broke up into small groups and worked to use key traits from our shared vision (another post you should check out!) and create 6 word sentences to build our mission statement. Beginning with a challenge is always helpful for engaging our members. Forcing them to think critically and create a powerful sentence with only 6 words got them hooked.

From there, they were able to start creating. As teams, they had to work together to ensure everyone’s feedback was heard and acknowledged. They had complete control over their fonts, colors, backgrounds, and transitions. 

 

Once all of there 6 word sentences were complete, they exported them as movie files and airdropped them to me. At that point, we created a Clips project on my iPad that was being displayed on the projector. I used to quickly create the full mission statement but also as a chance to model how Clips works. Their next project will be to create Clips projects for some of our events and service projects. I am hoping after they watched me insert videos, add music, and edit the files they will feel confident to jump in and get started with Clips. I kept it simple so they have the opportunity to “channel their inner Sherlock” (thanks Katie V.S. for that phrase!) and explore all the awesome features of Clips.

The Learn2Lead Mission Statement is an important component of our program. It keeps us centered and grounded in our agreements and expectations. The 6 Word Story activity modernized and enhanced it. 

I hope you enjoy the 2024-2025 Learn2Lead Mission Statement.

 


5 replies

December 10, 2024

What a great project! Love how youth are empowered to define and share their own identity as an organization. A simple way to create a powerful story! Not only the six words but the use of Keynote to share the message. Love how you showed them how to put it all together! Next time they can put it together and you can relax! Thank you so much for sharing!


December 11, 2024

Thank you so much! They were certainly excited to create their own projects in Clips. I'm hoping to kickstart that project in the new year!

December 12, 2024

Bravo for trying something different (I'm a paper and marker's fan too) to connect and engage with older Club members! You ARE a teacher!

December 12, 2024

Thank you! It can certainly be hard to step away from what is familiar and comfortable. However, it can be oh-so rewarding!

December 13, 2024

6 word stories are great, and your project is a great use of that strategy. It takes a lot of deep thinking to choose your 6 words carefully.

This post contains content from YouTube.

If you choose to view this content, YouTube may collect and process certain personal data. You can view YouTube’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/t/privacy" target="_blank">privacy policy here<span class="a11y">(opens in new window)</span>.</a>

This post contains content from YouTube.

You have rejected content from YouTube. If you want to change your consent, press the button below.