COUNTING WITH CUPS

 

Georgia Standards

 

South Carolina Standards

 

Key Vocabulary

 

Materials

• Variety of unpitched percussion instruments (can be “found sound”, such as, scraping a ruler along a binder spine, tapping a pencil on a desk) 
• Plastic cups in various colors and sizes 
• Rhythm sticks or dowel rods 
• Sound source (e.g., computer and speaker) 
• Musical recordings
• Large pads and markers 
• Paper and writing utensils (pencils, markers, crayons, etc.) 
• Note cards with mathematical equations

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

Classroom Tips - You may find it helpful to discuss proper use of, and care for, instruments prior to use. Discuss “resting” position, meaning no sound at all from instruments. Also discuss moving through “space” without touching anything else around. Pretend you are in a bubble and cannot touch anything or anyone in your surroundings.

 

• Turn on music with a steady beat that is easy for students to follow (or, simply play a steady beat without accompanying music). 
• Students stand in the space (no formation). 
• Leader claps (or plays) the beat while students walk to the pulse.  
• Leader plays four beats (while students move); then students stop and clap four beats (same tempo as leader). 
• Continue the game, moving around the room freely.  
• Have students stop in front of someone and clap their partner’s hands for the second set of four claps. 
• Thus, the sequence becomes:
  • Move to leader’s beat (set 1 = 4 beats)
  • Stop and clap beat alone (set 2 = 4 beats)
  • Move to the leader's beat (set 3 = 4 beats)
    • Stop and clap your partner's hands (set 4 = 4 beats).  
• Have students move to a new partner each time.  
• Extend the sequence by adding additional movements and/or body percussion for subsequent sets of four beats (e.g., move to leader’s beat; clap beat alone; move to leader’s beat; clap partner’s hands; move to leader’s beat; pat beat; etc.). 

 

Work Session

Wake-up and Warm-up  

• Tell students that they will continue the activator, but now, they will turn it into a mathematical equation!
  • Example: 4+4=8
• Experiment with different tempos and different numbers of beats (i.e., slower tempo, use body percussion or instruments to show 3+3=6).  
• Introduce a variety of rhythm instruments if available (rhythm sticks, drum, wood block, triangle, tambourine). Otherwise, use objects around the classroom, such as scraping a ruler along a binder spine, tapping a pencil on a desk.
• Take time to discuss the various shapes of each instrument (compare and contrast both shapes and sounds—timbre).  
• Use students to demonstrate to group various equations that can be solved. 
• Teacher will have two students play 5+5=10.  
• Arrange students in pairs and pass out equations. Then have students “play” equations and have partners solve the equations.
  • For example if a notecard shows 4+4=8, one student would play 4 beats with one instrument or body percussion (such as clapping) and the other student would have to solve by saying “you demonstrated 4+4=8”. 
  • Then switch roles.  
  • Then challenge the students to just play the answer (for example, 8). The other student must find a way to “play” 8, such as 2+2+2+2.

 

Question and Answer  

• The format of this strategy will have the question being asked on the first eight beats and the answer on the second eight beats); reverse. Display visuals of numbers.
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 -
  • Have students speak numbers in a given tempo.  
  • Have students clap once on each number while speaking; repeat, eliminating speech.  
• Divide the class into two groups.
• Have students clap twice on one number of their choice; extend to clapping twice on two numbers.  
• Now, incorporate questions and answers. Leader provides a question via clapping the first eight beats; students use part of the question in their answer in the second eight beats (e.g., “use the first part of my question as the first part of your answer”).
  • Extend to other body percussion, found sound, and/or unpitched percussion.  
• Try the strategy using pairs instead of two groups. Divide students into pairs, with one person providing the question and another, the answer; reverse. 
• Incorporate movement; add to a recording if desired (for example, “Hora Agadati” or “Jai Ho”).
  • Have students walk eight beats and then “answer” using body percussion for the next eight beats.  
• Tell students that a phrase in music is a musical sentence. Ask mathematical questions such as, if each phase is eight beats and we have two phases, how many total beats?  
• Extend to ask questions about the patterns.
  • If we walk the first phase, use body percussion the next phrase and then walk the next phrases, that could be called A B A pattern.  
• Have students work in pairs to create a “composition” using rhythm instruments that has four phrases (each phrase must have four beats). 
• Have them label the phrases with capital letters to show the pattern and then show equations for “how they play” each phrase (as demonstrated in the previous activity). 

 

Composing with Cups  

• Display different colored cups and have students reach consensus about desired sound for each (e.g., blue – quarter note, yellow – eighth notes, clear – quarter rest). 
• Introduce silently, having students use creative and critical thinking to figure out the values (number of sounds for each cup) independently first.  
• Teacher should lead this activity in silence, changing cups (number of sounds) and even length of phrase prior to any discussion.  
• Pause and discuss what students observed about the values of each cup.  
• Next, have individual students create rhythmic patterns for others to perform using the different colored cups. 
• Have students “conduct” their patterns by leading other students in performing them. 
• Variations:
  • Experiment with performing multiple patterns at the same time (having two groups perform simultaneously), reading in retrograde (reverse order), adding dynamics (loud/soft), etc.  
  • Add to a recording as desired (such as Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Together”).  
  • Have one group stand behind another group. Have the group standing behind the other group perform a pattern. The group in front will try to recreate it. This can also be done with the two groups facing each other if needed. 
• Finally, have students work in small groups or with a partner to create their own composition with cups. Students should be able to explain mathematical concepts embedded in their composition, such as addition and patterns.

 

Closing Reflection

• Students will perform their compositions for the group. Discuss appropriate audience participation prior to performances.
• Ask the audience to help identify mathematical connections.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding of the content throughout the lesson by observing students’ participation in the activator, ability to “play mathematical equations”, ability to move and speak to a steady beat, and collaboration with groups to compose a musical piece.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

• Students can identify, speak, and move to a steady beat.
• Students can demonstrate understanding of mathematical concepts, such as patterns and addition, through music.
• Students can compose music.
• Students can explain how they used math to create their musical compositions.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration:  Challenge students to add dynamics to and/or change the tempo of their performances and discuss how these changes alter the music. Remediation:  Scaffold the lesson by composing together as a class and discussing how pattern and addition were used.  Reduce the length of the composition students create at the end of the lesson to one phrase of four beats.

 

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Ideas contributed by: Pamela Walker and Maribeth Yoder-White.

Revised and copyright: September 2024 @ ArtsNOW