Magazine articles

Preparation and Planning

This lesson requires a certain amount of discussion between students, however this should be focused and objective-led. Students may need teacher-led discussion at the onset to stimulate creativity.

You will need access to a projector in order to display the Powerpoint slides which accompany this lesson.

It may also be useful to have copies of Soldier Magazine or Men's Health Magazine (both available nationally) as students will benefit from seeing the magazines in their entirety. This will be particularly useful during Episode 4.

Ensure that you have photocopied enough Student Worksheets for the whole class and additional Student Worksheets for those of lower ability.

About the MOD Topic

The old saying that an Army marches on its stomach is no less valid today and as such chefs are vital members of every British Army unit.

The Army Catering Corps was originally a corps of the British Army, responsible for feeding all Army units at home in the UK and abroad. It was originally formed in March 1941 as part of the Royal Army Service Corps, and became a corps in its own right in 1965. In 1993, as part of the Options for Change Defence Review, it was amalgamated into the Royal Logistic Corps.

The training and employment of cooks in the Army is still managed by professional military caterers. The Army School of Catering is a Centre of Excellence and demonstrates best practice to many similar organisations. Soldiers passing through the RLC Training Centre at St Omer Barracks (Berkshire), leave with National Vocational Qualifications and can build their portfolios during the whole of their career.

Military cooking can be a challenge. Chefs are involved in everything from VIP dinner parties to ration packs to feeding thousands of hungry soldiers using improvised kitchens in the field. In some cases there is no kitchen at all in the field, but the soldiers always need food so chefs must be able to provide it under any conditions.

The standard of food in the Army is high, with an emphasis on healthy eating. Soldiers get three meals a day from a varied, well-balanced menu. They are given a choice and the Army caters for the biggest of appetites. Halal, kosher and vegetarian foods can be provided. Soldiers pay for their meals on a 'pay as you dine' system yet the quality and nutritional value is high.

There are guides to nutrition for both recruits and officers and these provide excellent insight into healthy eating. There is also continuous research into nutrition and ration packs in order to reflect the changing tastes and eating habits of personnel.

Further Opportunities for Learning

Students may wish to make use of school IT facilities to develop their ICT skills and knowledge of a desktop publishing programme.

It is also possible to form cross curricular links with PHSE and Home Economics. Encourage students to research the question of what constitutes healthy eating and explore the impact of diet on issues such as diabetes and obesity.

Students may like to extend their ideas for the School Lunches article by interviewing their own parents and/or friends parents. This would enable the students to juxtapose different ideas and angles within the article, helping them to extend their skills in developing logical arguments, citing evidence, countering opposing views and using language to gain attention and sustain interest.

Students may like to take their own photographs of school meals and meals at home. These photographs can be incorporated into the design of their article to support their own views.

Students could undertake research into ration packs and see how they have changed over the years. There are interesting comparisons with ration packs for other countries (e.g. USA where food is fuel and NATO).

The class could be split into groups with each group creating an entire magazine. Students can assign themselves different roles in producing the magazine such as editor, proof reader, journalist, designer and photographer. This would develop and extend their skills in IT, English and Art.

Student worksheet answers

Download the teachers notes PDF to access the answers for this lesson.