Materials & Prep
Prepare a board or projected number chart, mini-whiteboards or notebook paper, and one set of price cards per pair labeled 72, 78, 80, 81, 87, 90, 91, 94, 99. Write the exit ticket numbers 76, 80, 91, and 98 where students can see them. No special setup beyond the usual classroom arrangement is needed.
Opening
Display 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69. Have students say the sequence with a partner and write what stays the same and what changes. They should recognize that soixante stays the same while the final number changes. Ask, “If French continues the pattern, what should happen after 69?” Accept predictions without correcting them yet.
ConnectPoint out that students already understand the important idea: French numbers can combine a tens number with a ones number. Reveal that 70 begins with soixante, so it is built as 60 + 10. Say, “The pattern did not disappear at 70. The pieces changed, but the combining idea is still working.”
Direct instruction
IntroduceWrite and say soixante-dix, explaining that it means 60 + 10. Model the complete 70s sequence: soixante-dix, soixante et onze, soixante-douze, soixante-treize, soixante-quatorze, soixante-quinze, soixante-seize, soixante-dix-sept, soixante-dix-huit, soixante-dix-neuf. Emphasize the et in soixante et onze.
Think aloudFor 78, I first identify the tens group, soixante-dix, then add huit: soixante-dix-huit. A common mistake is to write soixante-huit for 78, which means 68. I must not drop dix because 70 is the base of this group.
ExplainWrite quatre-vingts for 80 and connect it to 4 × 20. The sequence is quatre-vingts, quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-deux, through quatre-vingt-neuf. The s appears only in quatre-vingts when 80 stands alone. In quatre-vingt-un, the s disappears because another number follows.
ModelWrite quatre-vingt-dix for 90, then extend the same pattern: quatre-vingt-onze, quatre-vingt-douze, quatre-vingt-treize, quatre-vingt-quatorze, quatre-vingt-quinze, quatre-vingt-seize, quatre-vingt-dix-sept, quatre-vingt-dix-huit, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf. Say aloud that 92 is 80 + 12, not a completely new structure.
Guided practice
ScaffoldGive students a three-column organizer labeled Number, Tens group, and Final part. Complete 70, 78, and 80 together: 70 | soixante-dix | none; 78 | soixante-dix | huit; 80 | quatre-vingts | none. Students use the organizer for the remaining examples.
Have students write and say 71, 75, 79, 81, 86, 89, 90, 93, and 99 with a partner. Partners point to the tens group first, then add the final part. Provide the spoken frame, “, c’est plus ,” for students who need support, such as “78, c’est soixante-dix plus huit.”
Check for understandingEveryone writes the French forms for 78, 81, 92, and 99 on a mini-whiteboard and holds it up. Look specifically for soixante-huit instead of soixante-dix-huit, quatre-vingts-un instead of quatre-vingt-un, and missing dix in the 90s. Quickly reteach the relevant pattern using the organizer before continuing.
ExtensionStudents explain why quatre-vingts has an s but quatre-vingt-un does not, then create and correctly write another number in the 80s.
Independent work or discussion
Display the natural exchange, “Ça coûte combien ?” and “Ça coûte quatre-vingt-sept euros.” Model it once, then give each pair the price cards 72, 78, 80, 81, 87, 90, 91, 94, and 99. One student shows a card and asks, “Ça coûte combien ?” The other says the number in French and writes it as a price, then partners switch roles.
CirculateListen for accurate pronunciation and watch whether students preserve the correct tens group. When a student translates word-for-word from English, ask them to identify the French group first: soixante-dix, quatre-vingt, or quatre-vingt-dix. Students who finish early write a new price between 70 and 99, exchange it with another pair, and check both the spelling and the spoken form.
Closing
Exit ticketStudents write the French forms of 76, 80, 91, and 98. They then quietly say one assigned number to a partner, who checks it against the board chart. Collect the writing and listen to a quick sample of oral responses. Expected answers are soixante-seize, quatre-vingts, quatre-vingt-onze, and quatre-vingt-dix-huit. Use the errors to determine whether the next lesson should revisit the 70s, the s in quatre-vingts, or the 90s pattern.