10 MINUTE TALES– The Project

English Language and Literature are about to become much more exciting for students and teachers alike!

Terry Deary, internationally famous for his Horrible Histories series - 20 million copies sold worldwide - is launching a new multiplatform brand which dramatically breaks fresh ground, “10minutetales”.

10minutetales will bring a whole new series of interactive education and entertainment products to the market, linking mobile phone and internet platforms for the first time ever.

10minutetales will

• Provide a wide range of innovative teaching materials
• Encourage more individual focusing on students
• Allow teachers to concentrate on general outcomes and tasks
• Speed up and improve the quality of feedback to students

Students will find 10minutetales

• Gives greater freedom to experiment and develop ideas
• Helps them know when they are doing well
• Allows them to learn outside the classroom or lecture room
• Leads to more personalised attention from teachers

Initially, Modern English edited versions of 10 of Shakespeare’s plays will be available to download, all within a 10 minute format.  

Terry brings his own unique, idiosynchratic twist to all the 10minutetales as their narrator.

Cultural commentary and hyperlinks will allow students to explore issues raised by the plays outside the classroom, either on their mobiles or their own PCs.

Teachers can access supporting material (quizzes, interactive exercises etc) for English language and literature learning, and link them to smart boards.

The first example, highlighting this uniquely targeted blend of theatre and film, is a 2 minute version of Act 1 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, in association with The Birmingham Stage Company.

The full 10minutetales series will be launched in 2010.