Introduce the 1, 10, 100 and 1000 cards. Sit at the table with all four cards at your side. Show the child the 1 or "unit" card and ask him to tell you what it is. When he answers, "One," reply "Yes, this is one," and place the card to the side. Do the same thing for the 10, 100 and 1000 cards.
Ask the child to pick out various cards. Place the four cards in random order in front of the child and then ask her to point out requested number cards. For example, you might say, "Show me the ten...Okay, now show me the hundred...Good, now point to the thousand," and so on. You can rearrange the cards periodically so that the child does not memorize location rather than appearance. Once the child is clearly comfortable with the identities of the numbers on the cards, move on.
Review the names of the numbers. Place the numbers out of the student's direct line of sight. Select one number and put it directly in front of the student, asking, "What number is this?" When you receive a correct answer, move on to another card.
Summarize the lesson. This should be done in one continuous, fluid motion. Move all the cards back to the side, then say and do the following: Place the 1000 card on the table while saying, "Today you learned that this is how we write one thousand." Place the 100 card on top of the thousand card while saying, "Today you learned that this is how we write one hundred." Place the 10 card on top of the hundred card while saying, "Today you learned that this is how we write ten." Finish by placing the 1 card on top of the ten while saying, "Today you learned that this is how we write one."
Read the number again while pointing to the correct values. Say, "thousand," while pointing to the green one in the thousand position, "hundred" while pointing to the red one in the hundred position, "ten," while pointing to the blue one in the ten position and "one," while pointing to the green one in the one position.