Using Memes to Support a Claim

 

 

 

    I have always enjoyed finding and sharing memes online or on Facebook and sharing them with friends or colleagues. It was not until I was reading Chapter 2 of Arguments in the Real World that I realized using memes in the classroom could be valuable. “Meme" is a term that was first noted in Richard Dawkins' book, The Selfish Gene, according to Marcus in the video below (TEDx Talks, 2017).

      Dawkins (1976) refers to a meme as "an idea or concept that replicates contagiously from one human mind to another."  Turner & Hicks refer to memes as "images that are overlaid with text and shared on the Internet" (2017, pg. 27). Memes have increased popularity in recent years, being shared on social media to gain attention, or get a quick laugh from those who might relate to its content. The humor shared through memes can be used to connect with students and to support a positive community within your classroom. 

        Memes have also become a great way to engage students and promote learning in a fun and exciting way. Turner & Hicks give an example of a third-grade teacher, Kristen, using memes as the subject of her lesson (2017). She asked her students to brainstorm about “what writing is” and showed memes that had been created using quotations from famous authors (2017). The selected meme ‘used a quote from Henry Miller— “Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery”—paired with an aerial image of a mountain range bordered by two valleys’ (Turner & Hicks, 2017). According to Turner & Hicks, Kristen helped the students understand that the image was carefully paired with the quotation to emphasize the claim that “writing is a voyage of discovery” (2017). After modeling and explaining this process to students, they then had the opportunity to practice the strategy of making a claim by carefully selecting images to be paired with words. Pairs then made their memes to support their own claims about writing using an app called Mematic (Turner & Hicks, 2017). As the teacher noticed a group struggling, she supported their discussion by asking questions about their claim and what kind of picture might represent their claim. After discussion with each other, their peers, and the teacher, the students were able to choose an image that clearly conveyed their claim (Turner & Hicks, 2017). 

    This website gives many other ways to use memes in your classroom. Maliszewski explains that educators should be mindful of having a discussion about ethics and digital citizenship with students prior to incorporating memes into their lessons or having students create memes (2015). When I think about students creating a meme, it seems like a fairly simple task. However, students will practice critical thinking and higher-order thinking skills to determine and choose the words to appropriately match a picture. Maliszewski goes on to state that "finding the right image and using the right combination of just a few words was more challenging than they originally thought" (2015). Using memes could give students a chance to think critically and apply knowledge and skills they have learned. This also allows students to learn how to defend their choices by making a claim to support their meme (in this case) and how it relates to the topic. This teaches students to have evidence to support their claim as Turner & Hicks discuss in chapter 2 (2017). 

Some other ideas of ways to use memes (7 Creative and Smart Ways to Use Memes in the Classroom, 2019): 

• Building vocabulary
• Creating class rules and making them more engaging
• Learning grammar rules
• Responding to literature
• Highlight a historical event
• Use as an ice breaker
• Introducing new concepts and units