Darla Hanley's Music Room
Creative Teaching for Students of Today (& Tomorrow) PK-8
Today’s Teaching Strategy: Cups Are Alright
(Cup Game)
Upper Elementary/Middle (4-6)
This teaching strategy is all about rhythmic play with a manipulative—red Solo cups! It goes with Jon Batiste’s “It’s All Right” because of its message and walking tempo that suits the game.
Today I want to point out that we all have students (and sometimes it’s us) who get stressed out when we try something for the first time. In this game, it’s all right for things to get messy during the game (especially when we push the tempo of the cupography*) and for laughter to happen. We need to remember that kids are kids—and the experience of playing a game in music will teach them many things—including rhythmic patterns (lol).
The Jon Batiste track is available on multiple streaming audio platforms. (Like many of my teaching strategies, you should feel free to find other audio tracks to anchor the learning experience using music that works in your setting or new tracks to simply “mix it up.”)
Hi! I’m Darla, an experienced PK-12 music educator, college professor, and former Berklee College of Music Dean looking to connect with teachers, parents/caregivers, and others seeking to advance creative music making for today’s students—and their teachers. In Darla Hanley’s Music Room you will find teaching strategies, advice and teaching tips, playlists, and more.
Cups Are Alright
Today we are going to play a rhythmic cup game that goes with a song called, “It’s All Right” by Jon Batiste. Tell me what you know about cup games.
ProTIP: Asking students to reflect on prior experience/familiarity with an instructional format—in this case a cup game—informs us of “what they know” and “think” which, in turn, helps us meet them where they are.
Guide students to sit in a circle formation on the floor and distribute 1 cup to each student.
Teach the “Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap, Pass” cupography.
ProTIP: This goes with the macrobeat (quarter note pulse) of the music. Use the words “Reach-Reach, Front-Front, Head-Head, Pass” to guide students until they become familiar with the pattern.
Important ProTIP: The quarter rest at the end of the pattern allows time for students to place the cup and (musically) get prepared to begin the cupography sequence.
Cupography
[Left Neighbor] Tap Tap:
Students cross their Right Hand over to the cup in front of the person on their Left and tap it on the floor (in place) 2 times.
[Front of Self] Tap Tap:
Students bring the cup to be positioned in front of themselves and tap the cup on the floor 2 times
[Self] Tap Tap:
Student’s tap the cup on the top of their head 2 times
Pass:
Students place the cup on the floor in front of the person on their Right.
Rest
Repeat.
Play the recording and cue students to begin the game.
ProTIP: There is a brief introduction. Have students begin at 0.15 on the lyric “right”.
*Cupography is my word for how cups move in sequence.