Are you hearing “six seven” all day long?
Six seven writing was probably not on your bingo card. But somehow, you’ve made it here!
Whether you’re absolutely sick of six seven or have decided to embrace it, there’s a reason why kids have latched onto this seemingly nonsensical phrase: chalk it up to generational slang meets internet virality.
The chant six seven (sometimes written as 6 7 or 67) has become a global trend. You can’t miss it. It’s all over social media, popping up in highlight reels, TikTok clips, and has even made its way into everyday conversations. Not to mention the frequent outbursts in our classrooms daily.
Before we dive into the whys and hows of six seven… If you’re looking for quick, classroom‑ready support for hesitant writers, grab my free guide: 7 Simple Strategies to Solve the “I Don’t Know What to Write” Dilemma. It’s a practical tool to help students find their voice and get words flowing.
Six Seven Writing and Generational Slang as Camaraderie
The constant phrase is driving some parents and teachers crazy. Meanwhile, psychologists are explaining how this new trend is not as meaningless as we may think. Looking past the surface, it’s actually deeper than that.
As I began this post, each generation has its own way of speaking, its own slang that trends upward as more and more people use it. Eventually, that slang becomes part of that decade’s coded language.
While saying six seven and performing the associated up-and-down hand motion is entertaining, it’s also something simple that gives kids the chance to connect with other kids. A moment of shared belonging, if you will. It’s not really about “I’m doing this to annoy my parents and teachers,” but rather, “I’m in on this thing, this secret code that’s not so secret, and we’re in this together.” It’s a way for kids to level the playing field and be part of the “in crowd,” according to Karen North, a professor of digital social media and psychology at USC.
Six Seven and the Evolution of Generational Slang
Think of the virality of six seven as today’s version of “groovy” and “far out” from the 1970s. Or in the ’90s, when “As if!” was heard throughout schools and shopping malls, picked up from the movie Clueless.
Likewise, a decade earlier in the ’80s, my sisters, friends, and I leaned into what my dad called “like-speak”:
- Like, oh, my, God!
- Like, what are you, like, wearing to the dance?
- So, like, what are you, like, doing, like this weekend?
And so on. Just writing it now, I’m reliving those moments, hearing it in my mind, and I’m cringing!
Yeah, we really did talk like that for a while. It drove our parents nuts!
Even the sitcom Family Ties had an episode where teenage daughter Jennifer went through this “like-speak” phase to the utter dismay of her fictional TV parents.
Our parents and teachers survived other slang phrases alongside “like”: “totally,” “grody to the max,” and “no duh,” the last of which we wouldn’t have dared say to our parents or teachers back then.
While researching generational slang, it got me reminiscing about binge-watching the Classic 39 of The Honeymooners with my dad. The series was filmed in the mid-1950s and set in a Brooklyn tenement. In episode 20, titled “Young at Heart,” main character Ralph gives us a glimpse of generational slang. He quotes “23 skidoo” while rattling off a few expressions from days gone by to his best friend, Ed.
I always thought that phrase sounded amusing. Even now, it still does. Nonsensical too. But during the early 1900s, 23 skidoo was a viral catchphrase that meant “get out” or “get lost.”
Modern Viral Trends and Classroom Connections
More recently, within the past decade, we all survived flossing and dabbing. And even right now, people still have FOMO and YOLO fever. There’s no getting around that—those letters have been written and spoken everywhere, lest you miss out on what is happening, because, you know, you only live once, might as well go all in.
These trends and phrases aren’t just filler—they’re communication and connection tools. People don’t just consciously stop to think about why they’re doing or saying them—they’re simply done, said, and understood by the collective. If you understand, you’re “in” on it.
It’s a bit like baking: you measure out a cup and a half of flour without pausing to think, “I’m actually doing math right now.” The action just blends seamlessly into everyday life. In the same way, generational slang, when used often, just becomes part of the fabric of conversation, part of our collective understanding and shared experiences. For today’s kids, six seven has become that same phenomenon—updated for a viral internet-meme generation.
Just as slang has always shaped belonging, today’s six seven expression is shaping classrooms, too.
Six Seven Classroom Implications and Applications for Teachers
As educators, what are we to do when generational slang enters our classrooms?
As long as it’s school-appropriate, I don’t mind it. Yes, the phrase “6 7” comes from a Skrilla song that does have explicit lyrics. But the phrase is also traced to a basketball player’s height and a viral internet meme. And when students are saying six seven in school, they’re not doing it with vulgar or violent intent. If that were the case, then it wouldn’t have been allowed in the first place.
That’s not to say there hasn’t been controversy. Quite the contrary: some teachers and schools are banning the phrase altogether. If students are randomly yelling out, “Six seeeeeven!” in the middle of a lesson, distracting the learning environment, then yes, it’s disruptive and needs to go.
Six Seven Classroom Strategies for Engagement and Management
If six seven isn’t disrupting lessons, and students are engaged and putting effort into their learning, then let’s find ways to include it in daily classroom life.
Below are some methods to employ the popularity and high engagement of six seven as classroom management and academic learning tools:
- Call-and-response: Teacher calls “six” and students respond “seven” to refocus, or teacher calls, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5…” and students respond, “6, 7!”
- Classroom Routines: Establish clear norms, such as “We can say 6 7, but not if it interrupts our work,” and give clear do’s and don’ts for when students are allowed/not allowed to say it
- Line-Up & Organization: Line up by table numbers, where students get to call out “six” and “seven” when appropriate (I do this, so I call “Tables 5 and…” and the students respond “6 7!” even though we only have six table groups)
- Math Problem-Solving: Use the digits 6 and 7 in problems as entry points into lessons
Using one or more of these approaches validates students’ tendency towards generational slang. They also fuel engagement while channeling that energy into academic routines within school-appropriate boundaries.
Instead of outright banning the phrase, these strategies provide a give-and-take. Teachers acknowledge students’ need for self-expression while guiding them to use it productively in appropriate learning contexts.
Beyond classroom routines, six seven can also inspire creativity in student writing.
Six Seven Writing in Opinion and Narrative
By embedding six seven into writing assignments, you can further channel that verbal energy and engagement into written practice.
There are so many opportunities for six seven writing across genres. Of course, it won’t exactly work for something like biographies. But it folds itself very well into opinion, persuasive, and narrative writing.
For opinion or persuasive writing, have students take a stance on whether six seven should be allowed in school. They can then support their viewpoint with reasons and examples. Work through the usual opinion and persuasive formats, but use six seven as the topic of the moment. Have students brainstorm and justify their reasons on a graphic organizer. Then they can organize and draft them into paragraphs.
For narratives, students can use 6 and 7 as characters or weave the numbers into addresses and quantities of items. They might also time‑travel 6 or 7 years back or forward and describe their characters’ experiences in each era.
For personal narratives, students can write about their experiences with the phrase six seven. When did they first hear it? Why do they like saying it? What does it mean to them? They can write from their own point of view, or even switch it up and write from their parents’ or teachers’ point of view.
Six Seven Writing in Poetry and Publishing
If you’d like to venture into poems with your students, six-seven is a highly engaging way to get them “hearing” the cadence and sing-songy rhythms of poetry. Six-seven can be a refrain in a poem. Or, divide students into groups so that one group writes all about “six” and the other group writes all about “seven.” Then come together for a “Six Seven Poetry Party” to share out student poems!
If you want to incorporate six seven writing into your literacy block, but don’t want to spend hours piecing everything together, I’ve done it for you with these Six Seven Writing Pages. This standards-based resource comes with graphic organizers and lined writing pages, including 6 and 7-shaped lined papers for publishing. Extend writing tasks by having students illustrate their published writing for display.
Six Seven Art: Inspiration from Number Artists
Embedding six seven into art projects can inspire timely and creative work.
When I first considered connecting six seven to art, Charles Demuth’s I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold immediately came to mind.
That “big number five” painting has lingered in my memory for years. For a long time, it felt like I had imagined it, a fuzzy, chemo-induced hallucination. But a few years ago, I finally learned the truth. As I was wheeled down the hall to surgery, my eyes locked on a framed poster of that “big number five.” It was real. In fact, I had first seen that same poster decades earlier in that same hospital corridor before my first bone surgery.
So I knew right away that I wanted to use Demuth’s Figure 5 as a bridge to my students’ obsession with six seven. As I further researched, I found other artists who explored numbers in their work: most notably, Jasper Johns and Robert Indiana. I also discovered contemporary Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima, known for his light installations centered on various digits.
Six Seven Art: Classroom Applications
To bring this into the classroom, I created large number stencils. Using PowerPoint, I typed digits 0-9 in Times New Roman, enlarged each to fill a page, outlined and filled them with white to save ink, and printed them. These became templates for cutting tagboard stencils for my table groups. I also ordered these 3-inch plastic number stencils on Amazon so each group has a set to share.
Students study and reflect on the work of Demuth, Johns, Indiana, and Miyajima. Then they design their own art using numbers and colors of their choice. There are many YouTube videos showcasing student projects inspired by Jasper Johns, giving students a visual entry point into this genre of art.
Below are samples I’ve created for this “six seven”-inspired art:
Six Seven Writing: From Verbal Viral Trend to Written Classroom Legacy
As teachers, we can see six seven as either a distraction or as an opportunity. By weaving six seven writing into persuasive writing, opinion writing, poetry, and narrative writing, we transform viral energy into authentic student engagement. The chant becomes more than a fad: it becomes a bridge between pop culture and classroom learning. And years from now, when the trend fades, students will still carry their creative expressions from this moment in childhood, just as we remember the writing, art, and slang of our generations and those who came before us. 💙
Resources
For more on the Six Seven phenomenon:
Merriam-Webster “Six Seven” Slang Entry
CNN News: 6 7 Meme Slang Explained
Parents Magazine: Why Kids Can’t Stop Saying Six Seven
LA Times: What Does 6 7 Mean – Viral Trend in Classrooms
For more on artists who use numbers in their artwork:
Charles Demuth – MetKids – I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold
Charles Demuth – Britannica Kids
Japser Johns – Video from Color My Monday
Jasper Johns – Number Project with Photos
Robert Indiana – One Through Zero (The Ten Numbers)
Robert Indiana – Lettering Project Idea (adapt with numbers)
Tatsuo Miyajima – Work and Projects
Tatsuo Miyajima – Lisson Gallery – Number Artwork
For a deep dive into generational phrases, check out these sites:
How Stuff Works: Slang Terms By Decade
Pangea Global: A List of Generational Slang Words and Phrases for Gen X, Y, Z