As novice counters learn numbers 0-10, use this exercise to focus on the number nine. They begin by tracing and printing the numeral several times. Next, learners count sets of stars and record the totals, all of which are nine. Challenge them to consider why these sets look different from one another yet have the same number of stars. They copy two domino patterns of nine and complete a number sequence by adding the...you guessed it...nine.