Instruct students to read for information. This will develop the ninth graders' ability to comprehend and identify written facts and arguments. Provide students with a highlighting pen and a short article. Have students highlight key vocabulary words, definitions, important numbers, dates, people and places. Students should skim back over the article, re-reading highlighted portions, once the initial reading is complete. Review the article with the student to ensure that all necessary information is highlighted.
Teach students to take notes on the reading. Provide students with a pack of lined index cards and a pen or pencil. Have students read over the highlighted article and record three to six important facts. Instruct students to use a different index card for each fact. Advise students not to copy word-for-word, but rather to record a summary of the basic ideas and facts in their own words.
Show students how to create an outline. Outlining is a study skill that centers on recording key material in a logical sequence. Read aloud from a textbook or article, pausing frequently to outline what you have just read on the chalkboard or whiteboard. Give the class enough time to copy what you have written on a piece of paper or index cards. Allow the students to practice outlining this way until you feel they can outline without your example.
Teach students how to drill and memorize key information, such as important dates, historical people, or vocabulary words. Have students fold a piece of paper in half and unfold it. Instruct the students to write the information to learn on one side of the paper, with their definitions or explanations on the other side. Fold the paper and drill the vocabulary word and key term list. Look at the definitions only if necessary. Flash cards, made of index cards, work just as well.