Writing to entertain

Preparation and Planning

There is little preparation for this lesson. You will need to make enough copies of the Student Worksheets for each student as some of the exercises require independent study. You will also need to ensure you have access to IT resources to display the PowerPoint slides to the class.

It is important to explain to students that whilst parody can be used to undermine authority figures or poke fun at someone's characteristics, they should not use the characteristics of other students or teachers in their creation of a character.

About the MOD Topic

Information about the role of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) during the Second World War, the public's perception of the organisation and the current role of women in the Royal Navy can also be found on Student Worksheets 2 and 3.

The pressures of the First World War on British society vastly expanded women's employment opportunities. They were suddenly able to find work in engineering, the public services and factories, undertaking men's work in munitions and the dockyards.

In 1917 the WRNS was created. It was designed by the Admiralty to 'Free a man for the Fleet' by recruiting women to undertake support roles within the Royal Navy. These included domestic roles such as cook but also incorporated technical roles such as electrician and telegraphist. After the war the WRNS disbanded, leaving many skilled and able women out of work.

In 1938 the Admiralty, conscious of the possibility of war, predicted the need to recruit 3000 WRNS to help with the running of the Royal Navy. The number of women serving in the WRNS reached its peak in September 1944 with around 74,000 officers and ratings working in 90 categories and 50 branches.

Women in the Armed Forces today:
Women now serve on an equal basis in the Royal Navy, with the exception of working as naval clearance divers, serving onboard submarines and in front line positions with the Royal Marines.

There are about 3,700 women currently serving in the Navy, forming almost 10% of naval personnel. They serve in around 53 vessels in a variety of ranks and rates. Women are increasingly enlisting in the Armed Forces and the Royal Navy expects that the numbers of female personnel will grow further.

The following figures (correct as of April 2008) indicate the volume of women currently serving in all of the Armed Forces:

Total: 187,060
Female Officers: 3760
Female Other Ranks: 13,860
Percentage Female: 9.4%

Further Opportunities for Learning

Students could be asked to look at the representations of the Second World War fighter pilots in books such as Biggles. How does this type of writing to entertain differ from parody writing? Are certain characteristics emphasised and if so, to what effect?
Ask students to progress their drafts in order to present a finished chapter. This could be completed as a homework exercise.
Ask students to try and introduce their partner's parodied character into their piece of writing. Does this dilute or heighten the effect which their parody will have on the reader?

Student worksheet answers

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