Memes are the shortest form of storytelling that humans have yet invented.
It’s the tippy top of Bloom’s Taxonomy made expedient, which is why there’s no underestimating how influential memes are in shaping the lives of anyone growing up today.
Teachers often use memes as bell ringers, but that’s just scratching the surface. The reason that almost every subject matter has a meme community on the internet with membership in the tens to hundreds of thousands of people isn’t because they’re merely funny internet gags.
It’s because they’re social puzzles and incredible learning devices hiding in plain sight.
For every learning journey: Puzzles and people
“To start this semester for my seniors in composition, I did a variation of a rhetoric and the zombie apocalypse from Georgia Public Broadcasting. Students took on the role of would-be survivors, and they had to argue their case as to why they should have access to a cure. At the conclusion of that event, I asked students to make memes imagining how zombies would use rhetoric.”
- Thomas Klett
Read more on Antimatter in a English Classroom“The results never failed to impress me in terms of my students’ creativity and acumen—I’d often have students who expressed their understanding of the subject matter better through memes than any other medium. Beyond the memes that the students produced, but also in the conversations they were having. Their interactions were meaningful in terms of class content, exuded positive morale and community, and infused the classroom with cultural relevance.”
– Matthew Blackman
Read more on Antimatter in a Physics Classroom“I was so happy with the results that I shared Antimatter with the rest of my Social Studies department and we all use it now. The best thing I can say about Antimatter is that it really created a conducive environment for my students to express their ideas, thoughts, and knowledge in a fun and collaborative way. It also doesn’t hurt that because every one of my students’ memes was in one place, it made grading a breeze! I can’t say enough about Antimatter that has made using memes in the classroom so accessible and easy to use.”
- Jackson Grant
Read more on Antimatter in a Social Studies ClassroomWe have activities suited for every age and learning environment
We founded Antimatter when we discovered that tens of thousands of teachers across the world were asking their students to make memes for formative assessment.
They were cobbling together random memegens from around the internet and asking students to upload them privately. Blech!
We’ve built a suite of meme-based activities with educators like yourself, and we’ve made it free for educators. Forever.
Become an Antimatter Ambassador to share your passion for meme-based learning, support other educators, and receive special recognition in our global community