Darla Hanley's Music Room
Creative Teaching for Students of Today (& Tomorrow) PK-8
Today’s Teaching Strategy: Jeff for Jeffrey (4 for 7)
(Play-Party Street Game)
Upper Elementary (3-5)
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
This teaching strategy is all about nicknames and performing body percussion with others in 4s and 7s. It goes with a 2018 track by Paul Brown called “Blues for Jeff” because of its smooth groove.
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
Learning is personal. We all have learning styles, educational preferences, and abilities. We also learn and develop at our own pace. It’s pretty cool when you think about bringing a group of students together—all with different styles, preferences, prior experiences/knowledge, and abilities—and guiding them to engage in a task. And wow, when it all comes together, right?
In music, we have a special opportunity to create space for students to experience and make music using SO many tools and sounds. No joke, there are millions of streaming audio tracks at our fingertips (lol). Additionally, we have new technology all the time, and lots of traditional “tried-and-true” songs to share with students.
As teachers, we make our classroom personal. Our rooms are our places to share with students—creating an environment where they feel welcome, safe, and respected. At its best, a music room is a place where students can try singing, playing instruments, moving, playing games, etc. without hesitation—or better yet be fearless as they try and do! Our classrooms are also individual places where we shape learning experiences designed for the students in the room—instruction that is personal.
So why am I talking about things that are personal? Well, today’s teaching strategy uses names and nicknames as an anchor. Knowing student’s names is one thing, but including them in the instruction is another. When you know and call my name, it’s personal (lol)… and adding student names to a game can be HUGE for young students.
Let’s play the “Jeff for Jeffrey (4 for 7)” play-party street game! 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 perform—and create—original play-party street games! We will learn one called “Jeff for Jeffrey (4 for 7)” and then change it to make new versions.
ProTIP: This play-party street game pairs with names that are 7 letters long AND have 4-letter nicknames. Later in the strategy you will find a place for ALL of your student’s names to be included!
Teach the “J-E-F-F Moves” without a recording, using the letters of the name as an anchor (see below). (Video provided to make it easy!)
Play the recording of “Blues for Jeff” and direct students to perform the game with the track.
Materials/Set Up
Space for Movement
Video
J-E-F-F Moves
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
Raise the Roof 4x
J-e-f-f
Patsch Patsch
J-e
Clap Clap
f-f
2 Hands High-Five, 2 Hands High-Five with Backs of Hands, 2 Hands High Five
r-e-y
EXTEND the Learning:
Lead a discussion about nicknames. What is a nickname? (a short form of a proper name) Does anyone have a nickname? Raise your hand if you do and would like to share. (Solicit responses)
Replace the names Jeff and Jeffrey with other names from the DHMR “Jeff for Jeffrey” Name Bank.
ProTIP: Be sure to add any nicknames/names of your students—that fit the rhythm.
Print names from the DHMR “Jeff for Jeffrey” Name Bank to make cards and have students draw them to perform with the play-party street game.
Now it’s time for all of our student names to be included! We are going to use our first names and add a body percussion move. Let’s call this a “First Name Street Game!
Divide students into small groups and have them make a word chain using their full first names (no nicknames). You need to determine the order of names in your group to make a “chain of names”. Once the order of names is identified, have students create body percussion moves that correspond with the melodic rhythm of their name to create their original “First Name Street Game” to perform as a group.
ProTIP: Melodic rhythm is the term we use to describe the rhythm of the syllables in your name. Offer a few examples (e.g., Tim = Ta; Darla = Ta-di; Vladimir = Ta-di Ta)… and better yet, use some of your student’s names as the examples!
ProTIP: Remind students that since they are creating an original street game with their word chains they need to include body percussion moves that connect to another person—like a high-five.
ProTIP: Group formation matters. Demonstrate how students can connect in a 2-line formation facing a partner or stand in a circle to fist-bump the people on both sides of them, for example.
Play the recording and invite students to create “First Name Street Games” with the track.
ProTIP: Be sure to give time for students to—explore and develop ideas—as they make decisions to create their street games.
Ask groups to individually perform their original street game for everyone to see.*
🎵 Paul Brown “Blues for Jeff” Link to Track on Spotify
Learning Targets
Move
Learning Outcomes
Respond with movements and names
Create original street games**
Perform body percussion moves with a partner (and a group**)
**This outcome only happens within the EXTEND the Learning part of this teaching strategy.
Assessment
Informal Observation/Formative Assessment
Formal Observation/Summative Assessment*
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!
My fav!
Oh, brilliant teaching strategy, and "Blues for Jeff" is sweet!