Darla Hanley's Music Room
Creative Teaching for Students of Today (& Tomorrow) PK-8
Today’s Teaching Strategy: Beautiful Cups
(Double-Cup Cup Game)
Upper Elementary (3-5)
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
This teaching strategy is all about a rhythmic ostinato—and space to be creative with a partner. It goes with “A Beautiful Morning” by The Rascals from 1968 because of its perfect tempo for a cup game.
This 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.”)
Pedagogical Foundations
Cup games can be thrilling (lol)! They require students to contribute to a group performance with EVERYONE performing together (sounds kinda like being in a music ensemble, right?).
Additionally, cup games can be a bit intimidating or challenging for students if they can’t keep up, make a mistake that causes a ripple effect where cups aren’t passed in time, or feel pressure in any way, etc. So why do we do them?
Cup games are educational and can be lots of fun. In music class, they add excitement and a different way to perform rhythmic patterns beyond using instruments, voices, or body percussion/movement, for example. Further, cups tapped together or on a surface like a table or the floor, create a cool sound—especially when 20 students “play cups” together. It’s music!
In my view, like all of the learning experiences and opportunities we present to students, we need to approach cup games with student attainment in mine. So, what things do we need to consider when structuring cup games to ensure success, not stress? Try this:
Teach the rhythmic pattern before adding cups so it is familiar to students when the manipulative is in their hands.
Be sure that the rhythmic pattern is developmentally appropriate for where your students are at that moment. (Too easy and they may be bored and not want to engage; too difficult and they may get overwhelmed and not want to engage. It’s an educational balancing act.)
Use words to anchor the rhythms and actions (e.g., grab, tap, pass).
Practice the cup game without music before adding a track… and be sure to work it up to the tempo of the recording to prepare students for when music is added.
Finally, give students full permission to try—and let the cups fly—lol.
We all make mistakes AND then on the other side feel pretty great when we’ve tried something without 100% success, worked on it, and then made it happen.
Students will (quickly) gain facility with cups if we give them the opportunity.
Today’s teaching strategy “Beautiful Cups” includes a rhythmic ostinato to play using 2 cups AND space for students to be creative. I hope you give it a try with your students. But first, let me remind you who I am:
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.
Today we are going to play a cup game! It goes with “A Beautiful Morning” by a group called The Rascals. What does a beautiful morning mean to you? What would make your morning beautiful? (Lead a discussion as time permits.)
ProTIP: Always tell students the name of the artists and the music they are hearing.
ProTIP: There is no “wrong” answer to the question about beautiful mornings. This is an opportunity to engage students to have them reflect and share their ideas.
Teach the “Beautiful Cups” rhythmic ostinato pattern to students by rote (echo clapping). (Description below—and video provided to make it easy!)
Invite students to sit in a circle on the floor and distribute 2 cups to each student. Place cups on the floor to begin the game.
Now we will practice the “Beautiful Cups” cup game to get ready to play it with the recording. Lead students to perform the “Beautiful Cups” rhythmic ostinato.
ProTIP: Begin at a slow tempo and increase it as students gain familiarity with the pattern.
Play the recording and direct students to begin the cup game.
ProTIP: Have students begin at 0.10 of the track following a brief intro (on the lyric “Morning”).
Now I need everyone to stay seated but turn and face a partner!
ProTIP: Guide how this happens by beginning with 1 pair of students as a starting place and let students figure out the rest. You need to be facing your partner with your back to someone else.
Work with your partner to create a new rhythmic pattern to perform INSTEAD of the “floor, bottom, floor, bottom, floor” sequence in the game. Everything else will stay the same!
Provide practice time, observe students, and invite individual pairs to demonstrate their new rhythmic sequence as time permits.
Select one pattern that stands out and invite the students to teach it to their peers.
Play the recording and direct students to play the cup game using the new rhythmic sequence.
Beautiful Cups
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
Grab 2 cups
Tap bottom of 2 cups together
Tap on the Floor (2x)
Tap bottom of 2 cups together
Tap Floor, bottom, floor, bottom, floor, and pass
Video
EXTEND the Learning:
Invite student pairs to create new rhythms to replace the “Tap on the floor 2x” part of the ostinato and repeat the learning experience of providing practice time, observing students, having pairs demonstrate their patterns, selecting one, and having everyone perform it.
What did you like best about playing our cup game?
ProTIP: Asking students about their personal experience within a game gives us good information about how an activity resonates. Guide responses to keep things constructive.
Materials/Set Up
Plastic Cups (2 per student)
🎵 The Rascals “A Beautiful Morning” Link to Track on Spotify
Learning Targets
Move
Learning Outcomes
Respond with rhythm, meter, and tempo
Create new cup game rhythmic patterns
Perform a rhythmic ostinato within a group
Assessment
Informal Observation/Formative Assessment
Formal Observation/Summative Assessment*
*This happens especially for students selected to share and teach their original rhythmic patterns with their peers.
Thanks for checking this out. If you use this teaching strategy, be sure to leave a comment to let me know how it resonates with your students!