Numbers run your day: your age, a price, a phone number, and a room or house number. Learn 0–20, the tens, and how to build 21–99. Then make close pairs such as thirteen and thirty easy to hear and confirm.
40–45 min core-teen / -tyage · prices · digits10–15 min optional practice
NoticeHear thirteen vs thirty.
DiscoverTens, ones, and the hyphen.
BuildMatch, choose, and build numbers.
UseAge, prices, phone numbers.
Three spellings to watch all lesson: forty (not fourty), eighty, and ninety. From 21 to 99, use a hyphen when the number is not a whole ten: twenty-one, but twenty.
Two-minute retrieval
Three quick checks from earlier lessons
Answer from memory, then check. Say each complete sentence aloud.
1 are you from? (previous lesson · question words)
2Maya uses she. She has a new phone. It is phone. (older lesson · possessives)
3These my keys. (common contrast · one vs. many)
Notice before the rule
Two numbers that sound close
thirTEEN (13) · THIRty (30)
Say both slowly. Where is the stress, the loud part, in thirteen? Where is it in thirty?
One word ends in -teen and one ends in -ty. Which ending means the smaller number, 13?
Try the same pair for 14 / 40 and 15 / 50. What stays the same in each pair?
Discovery check: read the numeral, then choose the word
The number in brackets is your cue. Pick the word that matches it exactly.
1I am years old. (30)
2The bus is number . (13)
3The ticket costs dollars. (50)
4Her age is . (15)
The system: ones, tens, and a hyphen
0–20 are their own words. Learn these as whole chunks:
zero · one · two · three · four · five · six · seven · eight · nine · ten eleven · twelve · thirteen · fourteen · fifteen · sixteen · seventeen · eighteen · nineteen · twenty
To make 21–99, join the ten and the one with a hyphen:twenty-one (21), thirty-five (35), forty-eight (48), ninety-nine (99).
Compare the complete -teen and -ty families
numeral
-teen (13–19)
numeral
-ty (the tens)
13
thirteen
30
thirty
14
fourteen
40
forty (no u)
15
fifteen
50
fifty
16
sixteen
60
sixty
17
seventeen
70
seventy
18
eighteen
80
eighty
19
nineteen
90
ninety
Meaning and spelling check
Stress helps in clear, careful speech: by itself, thirTEEN usually has stronger stress at the end, while THIRty has stronger stress at the start. Sentence rhythm or contrast can move the stress, so do not use stress as your only clue. Also listen for the final n in -teen and confirm the numeral when the information matters.
Is it fourty? No. The number 40 is spelled forty. Drop the u from four.
Is it twenty one with a space? In writing we use a hyphen: twenty-one. The whole number is one tile when we build it.
What about 100? Say one hundred (or just a hundred).
One number can be read differently for a different job
Quantity, age, or price: read the whole number. 30 clients → thirty clients; $30 → thirty dollars.
Phone number or code: read one digit at a time. 555-0137 → five five five, zero one three seven. In phone numbers, speakers also commonly say oh for zero.
Important information: say the number, pause, and confirm it. Did you say thirteen or thirty?
Boundary: cardinal numbers answer how many? or identify a number. Order words such as first, second, third are ordinal numbers and belong to a later lesson.
In relaxed U.S. speech, the t in some -ty words may sound very quick, almost like d. Twenty may even sound close to twenny. Learn the clear form first, then listen for these natural variants without copying them in spelling.
Listen: -teen or -ty?
Ask your teacher to read the six chunks in order. Listen before you check your answer, choose the complete number word, and ask for one repetition if needed.
1room
2 dollars
3 people
4bus number
5gate
6 minutes
Read the number, say the number
Drill 1: match each numeral to its word
Tap a numeral, then tap the word that fits it. Watch the -teen / -ty endings.
Drill 2: choose the word for each numeral
The numeral in brackets is the cue; choose the matching word
1I live at Oak Street. (16)
2My grandfather is . (60)
3The jacket costs dollars. ($40)
4The hotel has rooms. (90)
5The meeting room holds people. (70)
6The flight leaves at gate . (18)
Build it, then say it
Drill 3: build your age
You are 25. Build the sentence, then say it aloud. The number is one tile.
Drill 4: build the price
The bill is $40. Build the sentence. Mind the spelling of the number.
Notice and repair errors
Drill 5: fix the spelling
Tap the word that is spelled wrong.
Drill 6: does the word match the number?
The cue is (13). Tap the number word that does not match it.
Drill 7: say the numeral as a word, then reveal
Say the number aloud first. Reveal only after you answer. Watch the hyphen.
1 21 → write it in words
twenty-one
2 40 → write it in words
forty
3 67 → write it in words
sixty-seven
4 90 → write it in words
ninety
5 99 → write it in words
ninety-nine
6 100 → write it in words
one hundred
Play and practice
Games and a short reading that recycle this lesson. Use them as a warm-up, a fast finisher, or homework. Each one checks itself.
Read
Riverside Pool: new members
Read once for meaning. Then read again and do the tasks below.
Notice55 wordsAbout 1 min
Welcome to Riverside Pool! The pool is open seven days a week. It is twenty-five meters long. A swim class is forty-five minutes. Each class has twelve people. Children under sixteen swim with an adult.
The price is thirty dollars a month. The cafe is in room thirteen. Questions? Ask Marco at the front desk.
Find it
Tap the 7 number words. A joined number like forty-two is one word.
Check your understanding
1. How long is a swim class?
2. How much is the pool for one month?
3. Where is the cafe?
Crossword
Number words
Click a clue or a square, then type. Press Check when you finish.
Across
Down
Match up
Match the numeral to the word
Tap an item on the left, then its partner on the right.
Numeral
Word
Unscramble
Spell the number
Tap the letters in order to spell the word. Tap a placed letter to send it back.
1. 19
2. 60
3. 50
4. 18
5. 20
Use it in real life
Your age and theirs: Say your real age, then the age of two people in your family. I am thirty-four. My sister is twenty-nine. My father is sixty-two.
Fictional phone number: Use a made-up number, not private information. Read 555-0137 one digit at a time: five five five, zero one three seven. Say it again with oh for zero.
Prices at the store: Point at three things and say the price. This is fifteen dollars. That is forty dollars. The total is fifty-five dollars.
Room and address numbers: Use real or invented information. I live at number eighteen. My office is in room thirteen.
Listen and write: Your teacher says a number between 0 and 100. Write the numeral. Then say a number for your teacher to write. Watch the -teen / -ty pairs.
Final production: a one-minute number profile
Without reading the examples, give your teacher five pieces of information: an age, a price, a quantity, a room or address number, and a fictional phone number. Include one -teen number, one -ty number, and one joined number such as forty-two.
Success criteria: the number matches the intended numeral; -teen and -ty sound different; a phone number is read digit by digit; and a joined number is written with its hyphen.
Reflect
Explain the choice
Complete this aloud: “For 13–19 I use the ending ______. For the tens like 30, 40, 50 I use the ending ______. The loud part of thirteen is at the ______; the loud part of thirty is at the ______.”
Then spell two tricky numbers from memory: 40 and 90. Say one true number sentence about your life right now.
Final quiz: numbers in real situations
1. (13) The bus you need is number ___.
2. Which is the correct spelling of 40?
3. ($50) The total is ___ dollars.
4. (21) She is ___ years old. Which number word matches?
5. (90) The hotel has ___ rooms.
6. (16) My apartment is number ___.
7. Which words say 100?
8. (73) My grandmother is ___ years old.
Return tomorrow before rereading the lesson. Complete the five-minute next-day retrieval, then check only the decisions that still feel slow.
Next-day retrieval
Keep the main lesson closed. Retrieve the number families, spelling, and use-specific reading from memory.
Choose the exact number word from memory
1The invoice total is $40. Write .
2The class has 15 students. Write .
3The order number is 28. Write .
4On a form, the quantity is 0. Write .
Repair the written number
The delivery is at room twenty eight. Tap the number writing that needs repair.
Say it without choices
Say 18, 80, and 56 in words. Then read the fictional phone number 555-0180 one digit at a time, once with zero and once with oh.
Thirty-second production
Give one price, one quantity, and one room number. Include one -teen number and one -ty number. Ask your teacher to repeat one number back so you can confirm it.
Choose the right amount of challenge
Communicate in three steps
Learner production. Pick one starting point, then move up only if the learner is ready. True or invented details are equally acceptable.
1
Personal answer
Make the language yours
Use the lesson’s earlier example or invent a similar situation. The details do not need to be personal.
Your age and theirs: Say your real age, then the age of two people in your family. I am thirty-four. My sister is twenty-nine. My father is sixty-two.
Next cues
Fictional phone number: Use a made-up number, not private information. Read 555-0137 one digit at a time: five five five, zero one three seven . Say it again with oh for zero.
Prices at the store: Point at three things and say the price. This is fifteen dollars. That is forty dollars. The total is fifty-five dollars.
2
Guided role play
Learner production
Your age and theirs: Say your real age, then the age of two people in your family. I am thirty-four. My sister is twenty-nine. My father is sixty-two.
Role 1Learner: use Cardinal numbers 0–100 to complete the situation in your own words.
Role 2Tutor: respond naturally, ask one follow-up question, and introduce one small change.
Useful language
Fictional phone number: Use a made-up number, not private information. Read 555-0137 one digit at a time: five five five, zero one three seven . Say it again with oh for zero.
Prices at the store: Point at three things and say the price. This is fifteen dollars. That is forty dollars. The total is fifty-five dollars.
Room and address numbers: Use real or invented information. I live at number eighteen. My office is in room thirteen.
Listen and write: Your teacher says a number between 0 and 100. Write the numeral. Then say a number for your teacher to write. Watch the -teen / -ty pairs.
3
Real-world challenge
Remove the support
Your age and theirs: Say your real age, then the age of two people in your family. I am thirty-four. My sister is twenty-nine. My father is sixty-two.
A0 target: Give three complete, connected responses without reading a model.