Teach your students how narrative writing differs from other types of writing. Review the various narrative genres that you have discussed over the year, including folk tales, fantasy and adventure stories. Remind your students about specific narrative pieces you read as a class and recall the elements that contribute to make those pieces examples of narrative writing. Jog students' memories with examples of characters, dialogue, plots and themes you encountered in classroom reading assignments.
Model narrative writing. Although sixth-graders are experienced enough with the writing process to write independently, they benefit from a clear demonstration of the writing process from beginning to end. Allow students to eavesdrop as you proceed through the stages of topic selection, prewriting, drafting, revising and proofreading your own narrative piece. Use a white board, chart paper or overhead projector to show students how you turn your thoughts into an organized written narrative.
Consider aloud several possible writing topics and discuss what criteria you use to choose the topic of your narrative. Allow students to overhear you as you consider the merits of several topics and help them understand why you reject some topics and ultimately choose one as the best. Point out that your narrative piece will be easier and more pleasant to write if you choose a subject you know and care about.
Use a prewriting technique to generate ideas for your piece. Brainstorm a list of words or phrases that you associate with your topic, or draw and label a picture of the scene you plan to describe in your piece. Point out how prewriting jogs your memory and helps you clarify what you wish to communicate to your audience through your narrative.
Decide who your audience will be and have your audience in mind as you write your first draft. Demonstrate how the drafting stage is about getting your thoughts on paper. Point out that you are not overly concerned with organization, word choice, sentence structure, grammar or punctuation. Remind students that you will worry about "correctness" in the next stage of writing.
Revise and edit your draft. Let students observe how you cross out certain sections, rephrase, add new material and rearrange your original piece. Reread the piece aloud as you edit and verbally note specific problems you discover while reading. Remind students of the importance of reading their own pieces aloud to check for coherence and flow.
Present your students with a writing rubric and ask them to verify that your piece meets certain criteria. Does the piece have consistent voice? Is the dialogue believable? Is your word choice appropriate for your targeted audience? Is the piece well-organized? Make additional changes, if necessary, allowing students to hear why you feel certain changes improve your piece.