Implementation of ‘Meme-ing the Great Masters of European Painting’ (SOI-HU-122)
The reason why I have chosen to implement this learning scenario is that my students love creating memes. Even though the original LS is intended for students younger than mine, I hoped that it would be equally successful in vocational education too.
Background information
Subject: English for Special Purposes (Information technology)
Grade: 13 (software developers)
Age of students: 18+
People from "Old London Bridge, a romance of the sixteenth century. Illustrated by A. Ashley" The British Library - Public Domain Mark 
Meme created by students, based on the original illustration from A. Ashley.Changes to the original learning scenario
Since my students are future IT specialist in vocational education (grade 13, age 18+), I have decided to change the original LS so that it would fit into their curriculum. They already have former knowledge of Europeana, as they have already participated in our eTwinning-Europeana project. The biggest change I have adapted is that the main goal of the creation of memes/comics is that they should be related to the students’ final exam at the end of their studies.
Ο Ε. Αβέρωφ με τον Υπουργό Εξωτερικών της Γιουγκοσλαβίας, Ν. Πόποβιτς - Ίδρυμα Βαρώνου Μιχαήλ Τοσίτσα - CC BY-SA - on the left / Meme created by students on the rightThe topic of comics and memes
I have chosen 2 topics of their future final exam (subject English for IT). In one, students have to write an email to their boss asking for a new laptop to work on. They should ask for a new configuration, giving a reason why they need a new device.
In the other topic, students participate in an imaginary job interview answering the potential questions of the HR member. Here are the comics they have come up with.
Meme created by students based on a original image: Limco - Coveco Weert, interview bedrijfsnieuws "drie op je boterham" - . Gemeentearchief Weert - CC BY-SA 3.0 NLEvaluation
I have wanted this lesson to be a kind of pre-topic task where students can get familiar with the topics of their final exam in a funny way. They worked in pairs and had fun making the pictures. The biggest difficulties were finding a picture with at least 2 people in it and implementing the pun into English.
Did you find this story of implementation interesting? Why don’t you read about the related learning scenario:
Meme-ing the Great Masters of European Painting by Maria Skiadelli
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CC BY 4.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana Collections and provided by the Wellcome Collection.