Teaching the short story by themes

Abstract

The aim of the dissertation is to study the short story as a genre in literature in its own right, and in the context of children's literature. Therefore, the first chapter will deal with the historical background and the great exponents of this genre. A look at what makes up a short story and its contrasts and comparisons with the novel, poetry and drama is taken in chapter two. Chapter three is dedicated to the literature for children throughout the years. The reading material available for them in the beginning was not set to give pleasure but to dictate rules and morals. Now that the situation is different, teachers have a treasure of material that could be used in class. The final chapter discusses precisely the methodological part. As an appendix, there is an anthology entitled ENGLISH SHORT STORIES FOR MALTESE PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN in the upper three years of the primary school. The writer has contributed five original short stories to the collection, namely, "The Toy Car", "The Rocking Horse", "A Well-Deserved Present", "Richard and the Pigeon", and "A Cream Caramel worth Comino".