Your students will better relate to a text if they make associations between what they already know and what subjects they will encounter in a text. Ask your students to agree or disagree with a series of statements or answer other questions that are pertinent to central themes or characters in the story.
Students will retain and comprehend a text better if they visualize what they read. Help the material 'come alive' for your students by encouraging them to visualize key concepts before they start reading. You can also allow your students to elaborate upon and talk about their visualizations aloud in class so they may learn from each other.
Before moving onto the reading assignment, encourage your students to consider what else they'd like to know about the topics the reading will cover. If your students are actively looking for answers, they are more likely to remain engaged with the text.
KWL grids are a great way to encourage students to interact with a text. Before the reading, brainstorm facts and questions about these facts that fall into the first and second of the three KWL categories: (K) 'Know,' (W) 'Want to Know.' Have students fill out the (L) 'Learned' section after they engage with the text.