This study investigated teachers' instructional practices and approaches for reading instruction in 9th grade English I classrooms in a suburban school district. It examined teachers' perceptions of their role and training as a reading teacher and examined any assumptions about student reading abilities in the classroom. The study sought to understand teachers' perceptions of their knowledge of reading pedagogy and their ability to make instructional decisions for students and the classroom. Lastly, it identifies any successful reading strategies used by teachers to improve the reading proficiency of students. According to both national and state standards, students in 9th grade are performing below proficiency levels in reading in Texas (NAEP, 2019). The researcher collected data from English I teachers in four high schools who volunteered to complete an initial survey and volunteered for an interview. This researcher used NVivo software to analyze the survey information. The open-ended responses and interview transcripts were analyzed using NVivo software for words or phrases particular to reading instruction. This research study showed that although English I teachers in 9th grade at the secondary level used appropriate instructional approaches for reading instruction, they did so without the pedagogical understanding required for optimal reading learning for struggling students. This study also found that English I teachers at the 9th-grade level love reading and books, have a genuine interest in their students' success, assume that students entering into their classroom should be proficient readers, and use rote instructional practices for reading even if they did not articulate them as reading pedagogy. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]