Do pre-reading activities. Pre-reading is the act of skimming the passage, such as the titles, headings, or words in bold and italic. Provide your son with a list of difficult words from the reading and teach him the meanings and give an example sentence using this word. This will help familiarize him with the text.
Draw a mind map. Sometimes called a spider map, a mind map is an exercise designed to help learners organize their thoughts about class material. He should start by writing the title or main idea in the center of a sheet of paper. From there, he will draw lines and smaller circles that describe or relate to the main idea. This process continues until all points and subtopics in the text are exhausted. Mind maps are very useful for visual learners who have trouble with reading comprehension.
Test his reading comprehension. Sometimes the pressure of a test or quiz at school can be a cause of stress and failure with students. Take practice tests at home to help him relax and use the previous techniques to understand what he has read. Start with true and false questions and multiple choice questions to help him understand the meaning of a passage. As he gets more comfortable with the testing routine, give him practice essay and short answer questions. This will help him organize original thoughts into a well-planned piece of writing.
Invite your son to read for recreation. A key part of being a good reader is being engaged with the act of reading. Discuss different types of reading with him and encourage him to read something of his choice during his free time. Get him a subscription to a magazine of his choosing, for instance, if he is interested in cars or sports, find an age appropriate publication that he can look forward to reading every month.