9th Grade Reading Lesson Plans for Parents and Teachers

Lessons for 9th Grade Reading

What 9th Graders Learn

What 9th graders are required to learn varies depending upon the school and state. However, it's common for kids to be required to read somewhat advanced novels and plays, such as To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Your child or students will need to be able to analyze these texts, formulate opinions and comprehend the literary structures.

Informational texts are also typically an important component of 9th grade reading. Students need to be able to absorb and interpret new information from a number of differing mediums. Informational texts are used in a variety of subjects in high school, from history to chemistry and calculus.

It can be helpful for your 9th grade reading lesson plans to include pre-reading, reading and post-reading components to help your child or students fully engage with texts. This will help them break down and understand information and plot lines as they become increasingly more complex over the course of the school year.

Pre-Reading

Begin a reading lesson with a pre-reading activity. This activity should activate your students' or child's background knowledge and get them excited about the text. If you're reading a novel, discuss the genre, the author and any related works that have already been covered. Use the pre-reading time to make a text interesting and relatable.

If the reading lesson for the day is on a chapter in the middle of a novel, the pre-reading activity can be a simple review of previous chapters. Discuss the events of these chapters and ask your child or class to make predictions. Analyze character motivations and what might potentially be different if certain characters made alternate choices.

Reading

During a reading lesson, you can stop frequently to ask your child or students about the text. If they're reading independently, give them several questions to answer or themes to look for while reading. This work will keep them be engaged and focused on the text. For example, if you're teaching your class or students about foreshadowing, choose a chapter in a book with one or more examples of foreshadowing. After explaining what your students or child should look for, have them make a list at the end of the chapter.

Post-Reading

Follow up a reading assignment with a discussion about the text. In such a discussion, ask questions of your child or class that make them think critically about the text and formulate opinions. Encourage your child or students to use specific examples from the text during such a discussion to back up what they say.