Activities I can do with a five year old to teach him how to read?

Make reading fun! The Starfall website is a great resource for teaching kids phonics. When you read books to him, read with enthusiasm and make the characters come alive. Choose books that he is interested in -- perhaps Super Heroes and books with well known cartoon characters. You may want to try BOB books- available on amazon. They are easy enough for a beginning reader to read on his own and as he does, he will gain more confidence. Books on tape also help make reading fun. He can follow along in the book as the CD plays.