Understanding the reading curriculum and the skills your child needs

The reading part of the Year 9 NAPLAN curriculum assesses how well your child understands a wide range of written texts. These texts are more complex than the ones used in earlier years. They often have deeper meanings, stronger author voices, and more layered ideas.

Your child needs to understand not just what the text says, but how it communicates meaning. Here are the major skill areas in the reading curriculum.

Understanding main ideas
Year 9 students must identify the central message of a text. They need to understand what the writer wants them to know, believe, or feel. This skill is important because senior school subjects often require students to read and summarise complex material.

Interpreting deeper meanings
The Year 9 reading curriculum includes questions that probe deeper meaning. Students must interpret tone, point of view, irony, and implied ideas. These skills prepare students for analysing literature, evaluating arguments, and understanding subtle messages.

Identifying patterns across the text
Students must recognise patterns in ideas, language, and structure. They may need to trace how an idea develops from the introduction to the conclusion. This skill supports learning in subjects like English, science, and humanities.

Understanding text structures
Students see many text types. These may include opinion pieces, explanations, reviews, arguments, and narratives. They must understand how each type is structured and how the structure supports meaning.

Evaluating language choices
Students must interpret why writers use certain words, phrases, or images. They need to understand how language shapes the reader’s response. This skill is important for senior school essays and analytical writing.

Interpreting visual information
The Year 9 reading curriculum includes charts, diagrams, and visual texts. Students need to understand how visuals convey information and how to interpret them alongside written content.

Comparing ideas within and across texts
Some questions ask students to compare viewpoints, analyse differences, or identify how two pieces of information relate. This prepares students for senior school skills such as evaluating sources and analysing evidence.

When you understand what the reading curriculum involves, you can support your child by encouraging curiosity, calm discussion, and exposure to different text types.

Understanding the writing curriculum and the skills your child needs

The writing curriculum in Year 9 NAPLAN assesses how well students express ideas in a clear, structured, and purposeful way. The writing task may require an argument, a narrative, or another extended response. Regardless of the type, the focus is on communication and clarity.

Here are the major skill areas in the writing curriculum.

Planning ideas
Before writing, students must plan what they want to say. They must organise their thoughts, identify the main message, and choose an appropriate structure. This helps them avoid confusion and supports clear communication.

Building strong paragraphs
Year 9 students must show clear paragraph organisation. Each paragraph needs a controlling idea, supporting details, and a logical flow. This skill is essential for senior school assignments.

Using precise vocabulary
Students must use clear and purposeful language. They need vocabulary that matches the tone of the task. This includes descriptive words for narratives and formal words for arguments.

Creating flow across the writing
Flow is created through linking words and clear transitions. Students must guide the reader from one idea to the next. This skill helps them write essays and extended answers in senior school.

Showing depth in ideas
Year 9 writing requires more depth. Students must explain ideas clearly, provide reasons, and develop points with evidence or detail. This prepares them for the analytical writing required in Years 10 to 12.

Editing for clarity and accuracy
Students must review their work to correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. They must check whether the writing communicates the intended message. This builds responsibility and precision.

Writing with purpose
Students must choose the right voice and style for the task. Whether they write to inform, persuade, or entertain, they must match their tone to the purpose.

The Year 9 writing curriculum builds strong communication skills that students use in every senior school subject. Understanding these skills helps you support your child with confidence.

Understanding the conventions of the language curriculum and the skills your child needs

The conventions of the language curriculum measure your child’s understanding of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. These skills support reading and writing across all subjects. By Year 9, students are expected to show a higher level of language accuracy and control.

Here are the major skill areas in the conventions of language curriculum.

Grammar knowledge
Students must understand how sentences work. They need to recognise subjects, verbs, objects, and different sentence types. This helps them write clearly and understand complex texts.

Accurate punctuation
Students must use punctuation that supports meaning. This includes commas, full stops, quotation marks, and other common marks. Accurate punctuation helps them present ideas with clarity.

Spelling accuracy
Students must show correct spelling in familiar and unfamiliar words. They must use spelling patterns and generalisations to work out new words. Spelling supports writing fluency and confidence.

Understanding sentence structure
Students must recognise fragment sentences, run-on sentences, and correct sentence formation. This prepares them for writing well-structured essays in senior school.

Identifying errors and correcting them
Students must show the ability to spot mistakes and fix them. This builds self-awareness and helps students revise their work carefully.

Understanding word choice and meaning
Students must choose words that communicate the exact meaning. They must recognise how word choice affects tone and interpretation.

The conventions of the language curriculum help your child communicate clearly and confidently across all subjects in senior school.

Understanding the numeracy curriculum and the skills your child needs

The numeracy part of the Year 9 NAPLAN curriculum assesses how well your child understands mathematical concepts, applies reasoning, and solves multi-step problems. The questions cover a wide range of areas.

Here are the major skill areas in the numeracy curriculum.

Number and algebra
Students must work with whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and integers. They learn to identify patterns, solve algebraic expressions, and use reasoning to solve problems. These skills prepare them for senior school mathematics.

Measurement
Students work with length, area, volume, and time. They interpret measurement units and solve practical problems. This skill appears in many applied subjects.

Geometry
Students apply knowledge of shapes, angles, symmetry, and spatial reasoning. This supports problem-solving in mathematics and science.

Statistics and probability
Students interpret data, read graphs, and understand chance. They must analyse patterns and make predictions. These skills prepare them for evidence-based subjects in senior school.

Problem-solving and reasoning
Students must break down multi-step questions, choose appropriate strategies, and check their answers. Reasoning is one of the most important skills for senior school success.

Interpreting mathematical language
Students must understand terms, instructions, and diagrams. This builds mathematical literacy and supports advanced learning.

The Year 9 NAPLAN numeracy curriculum encourages students to think logically, analyse patterns, and apply mathematics with confidence.

What should parents focus on to support these subjects?

You do not need to teach the Year 9 NAPLAN curriculum directly. Teachers prepare students throughout the year. However, you can support your child by focusing on a few key areas that strengthen the skills behind the curriculum.

Encourage curiosity about reading
Ask your child what they understood from a text. Encourage them to explain their thoughts. Curiosity helps them engage with reading.

Talk about writing ideas openly
Discuss topics your child is learning. Invite them to explain their viewpoint. This helps them structure ideas before writing.

Support vocabulary growth
Introduce new words casually in conversations. Encourage your child to ask what a word means. Vocabulary growth supports reading and writing.

Discuss numeracy in daily life
Talk about patterns, shapes, distances, or amounts during normal activities. This builds practical numeracy skills.

Encourage accuracy in language
Invite your child to check their own writing for spelling and grammar. This helps them develop self-awareness.

Ask reflective questions
Ask questions like what made this task easy or what felt confusing. Reflection builds independence and senior school readiness.

These simple focus points strengthen the exact skills assessed in the Year 9 NAPLAN curriculum.

Resources used

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan

WA curriculum learning content
https://www.education.wa.edu.au/curriculum

Research on adolescent literacy development
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2019.1673935

Study on numeracy and problem solving
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059318300984

Research on writing development in secondary years
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042815033920

Helpful links

NAPLAN sample questions
https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/whats-in-the-tests

Support for WA learners
https://www.education.wa.edu.au/support-for-students

Parent information about NAPLAN
https://www.acara.edu.au/assessment/naplan

Public NAPLAN papers
https://www.acara.edu.au/assessment/naplan/naplan-2012-2016-test-papers