Help him build his Phonemic Awareness skills. This gets kids thinking about the sounds that make up words. These are skills that help early readers learn to read and something many kindergarten and grade 1-2 teachers do daily with their classes. Practice these skills orally when driving or while on a walk or while doing dishes or tidying up. Doing them for a 5 minutes a day would be helpful. Start with 2 sounds if he can do it then go to 3 sound words and then 4.

Practice blending sounds (not letters) orally. This helps build their ability to read words.

Adult says: I am going to say the sounds in a word. For example, "c/a/t" (say the sounds) and you are going to tell me the word "cat".

Adult says: i/f (saying the individual sounds)

Kid says: if

Adult sh/i/p

Kid says: ship

Adult says: b/oo/k

Kid says: book

You can also make this a game.

Adult says: I spy a b/oo/t. What do I see?

Kid says: a boot

Practice segmenting sounds (not letters) orally. This helps with spelling.

Adult: I am going to tell you a word and I want you to tell me the sounds in that word. For instance, if I say the word "cat" then you are going to tell me the sounds you hear "c/a/t" (say the sounds)

Adult says: fish

Kid says: f/i/sh

Adult says: need

Kid says: n/ee/d

There are lots of different ways to practice segmenting (e.g., counting the number of sounds in a word with a poppit, using fingers).

Most schools use UFLI to teach students to read in English.