The most basic reading skill that students need is comprehension of the novel or story they have just read. You can get students to practice this task by having them summarize the plot together on the board. Go around the room and ask students to provide one sentence, in order, about an event in the text. Alternatively, have one student come to the front of the class playing a character from the novel. Students must ask him questions to determine which character he is.
Learning to analyze a literary text is a vital task that students need as they make the transition to high school English courses. One way to do this is to break students into groups of three or four and have them discuss the meaning of the novel or story. After half an hour, you can reassemble the class and lead a general discussion about the text's theme. You can make this into a game by writing down different textual elements on slips of paper, such as "character," "language," "social meaning," "personal meaning" and "ethics." Have one student choose one of these randomly and give a one-minute impromptu speech on the topic as it relates to the text.
An often overlooked task that students can use to enhance their reading skills is creative writing. By writing creatively to respond to something they have read, students will find that they are engaging with the text on a deeper level. One game they can play is to each write a short monologue from the perspective of one character in a novel they have studied that year. Let students read their monologues to the class and have the others guess which character it is.
Students can also further their reading skills by other creative means. Break the class into groups of five or six and have students write a short skit or play based on the text you have read. Allow students to interpret this activity as they wish. One option is to rewrite the story, setting it in a different place, such as the future or in space. Alternatively, students might choose to write a prequel to the novel, or to retell it from the perspective of a minor character.