Before students practice writing narratives, teach them to analyze real picture books. For example, students listen to you read a picture book aloud. Then you lead a discussion about how the author used one writing skill or technique to craft the story. Some examples are analyzing metaphors, finding the author's voice in characters and using metaphors to convey meaning
In "Teaching Writing in Middle School," Beth Means and Lindy Lindner note that you can help students learn how to write stories by focusing on smaller scenes in a story. Students may not be able to put a whole story together, but they can create shorter events, such as a conflict between two characters or a dialogue involving multiple characters. These pieces can be connected later.
When students have different pieces to join, such as a collection of narrative scenes, or just different pieces of dialogue, teach them to add transitions. Even if students are trying to write a short story or follow a picture book model, they need ideas that connect story parts together. Encourage students to go back to picture book examples and see how different authors write transitions. Then they can try adding transitions to their narrative compositions.
High school students should also practice authentic forms of narrative writing in preparation for adulthood. Ask students to practice writing personal narratives in a journal. They can choose which stories to develop further in preparation for their college application essays. Provide models and let students write about different experiences in their own writers' notebook. When you finish teaching this skill, students should have many samples of their own work to submit for different colleges. Studying their own personal narratives also helps students get into the minds of their own characters.