Lesson 2.2 Les Nombres de 1 à 20

Steps

1. Warm-up

   Do this together: Count to ten in French if you can: un, deux, trois… Today you go all the way to twenty.

2. Teach the new idea

   Read aloud: The story. On a clear night, go outside and look up. How many stars can you count? Ten, twenty, a hundred? Long ago Abraham looked up, and God told him, Count the stars, if you can! Nobody can count them all. But the Bible says that God tells the number of the stars, and He calls every one of them by name. The God who knows every star also knows you, and He knows how many hairs are on your head.

   Read aloud: How French sounds. From 11 to 16, French has special words: onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze, seize. Then it adds: dix-sept is ten-seven, dix-huit is ten-eight, dix-neuf is ten-nine. In vingt, the g and t are quiet: VAN, hummed through the nose.

   Read aloud: Say it and move. Count 1 to 10 on your fingers, then 11 to 20 on your toes! Jump on vingt!

3. New words

   Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.

   • onze [OHNZ]: eleven
   • douze [DOOZ]: twelve
   • quinze [KANZ]: fifteen
   • seize [SEHZ]: sixteen
   • dix-sept [dee-SET]: seventeen
   • vingt [VAN]: twenty
   • combien? [kohm-BYAN]: how many?
4. Show how

   Show: How do you say 17?

   Say this: “17 is ten and seven.”

   Say this: “dix + sept.”

   Answer: Dix-sept.

   Show: Combien de crayons? (There are 12.)

   Say this: “12 is a special word.”

   Answer: Douze.

5. Practice together

   Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.

   Ask: Say 11 in French.

   Listen for: Onze.

   Ask: Say 15 in French.

   Listen for: Quinze.

   Ask: Say 20 in French.

   Listen for: Vingt.

   3 more on the lesson page.

6. Project: Count the classroom

   Read aloud: Count school things around the house in French and make a counting chart.

   Steps:

   1. Pick five kinds of things: crayons, books, spoons, buttons, chairs.
   2. Count each kind aloud in French, up to vingt.
   3. Draw each thing and write the number beside it.
   4. Ask Combien? and let a parent answer in French.

   Tips for you:

   • Use a number line from 1 to 20 to help.
   • Count up the stairs in French.

   Done when your child can say:

   • I counted five kinds of things in French.
   • I reached at least 15.
7. Sketchbook

   Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.

   1. Write the numbers 11 to 20 in your French notebook, with the French word beside each. Draw that many dots for one of them.
8. From history

   Read aloud: On a dark night far from city lights, a person can see a few thousand stars. With a telescope, scientists know there are far more than anyone could ever count.

9. Watch for
   • Saying the g and t in vingt. It sounds like VAN.
   • Mixing up seize (16) and six (6). Seize sounds like SEHZ.
10. Game: Twenty jumps

    Take turns counting in French: each person says one, two or three numbers in a row, jumping once for each. Whoever has to say vingt does a happy dance!

11. Narration

    Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”

    Listen for: Count from 1 to 20 in French.; Count school things aloud in French.; Hear that God counts the stars and names them all.

12. Scripture

    He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.

    In the French Bible of Louis Segond (1910), this verse reads: <i lang="fr">Il compte le nombre des étoiles, Il leur donne à toutes des noms.</i> God tells the number of the stars and calls them all by name. He knows and cares for everything He made.

Spread over the week

3 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.

1. Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Show how.
2. Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
3. Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.