PDF FIRST GRADE - TouchMath The steps below apply to all numbers 1 through 9. 1. Prepare dishes with nine objects (beans, buttons, counters, pasta) in each dish. 2. Tell students what number(s) they will be learning today, i.e. "Today we will be learning the number one and the number 2." Learning two numbers in one period may not be possible as numbers progress beyond 5. 3.