Creating and Using Meme Images in the Classroom

Have some fun! Get your ‘Meme' on. It's Probably Easier Than you Think.

Well, to be clear, Wikipedia defines a Meme as “an activity, concept, catchphrase or piece of media which spreads, often as mimicry, from person to person via the Internet.” Creating something that is going to spread like wildfire is not easy, and that's not really what I'm writing about here.

As the concept of the “Meme” has become ubiquitous with the Internet, we've all become familiar with meme images. Many of those images often get used over and over like Grumpy Cat or Success Kid (that's him in the image above). Can you find and use popular meme images to create your own Memes? Yes, you can.

This can be a fun way to make a point in class. Today's kids relate to memes, so they can provide a fun way to connect, and loosen things up while making an important teaching point or illustrating a concept.

There are plenty of programs that will let you take a picture and overlay text (PowerPoint would be my go-to since it makes it so easy to overlay and manipulate each element, but there are many other options). But these don't help when the goal is to use a popular image you've seen used frequently and want to reuse it yourself. Those images typically have words overlaid on them already when you see them used as a meme. What's someone with a meme-inspired idea to do? Answer: Try Imgur.

Easy Memes with Imgur (*note: this is NOT a site for kids!)

Now understand, Imgur is NOT a kid-friendly place, so I am not suggestion to send students there. This is ** for teachers only **. Lots of crafty folks use Imgur to make sexually explicit meme's (the images are generally clean, it's the words that get … uh … frisky).

Putting the dirty humor aside, Imgur is a great tool for creating your own memes using popular images with ease. You can pop over to Imgur right now, click the own arrow next to “upload images” and select “Make a Meme” and you'll be on your way to your first Meme! Just select an image, click on the text boxes and enter your own text, and click “make this meme” button towards the lower right of the screen. When it's done, right click and download!

To save your memes on Imgur, you'll need to create an account (it's real quick and easy if you use a Facebook or Google account).

Here are a few silly and amusing teaching related “meme” images I tossed together with Imgur:

Encourage Students to Ask Questions!

So go ahead, get your meme on you creative genius!