Map-and-Build Cup Tower Relay

Each team must build a cup tower that matches its model card. Cups of each color sit in hoops spread around the gym, and only the team's map shows which hoop holds each color. Relay style, students read the map, fetch the right cup and build the tower. It builds map reading and teamwork.

How to play

1. Place 8 hoops around the gym, each holding cups of one color; there are two hoops per color in different spots.
2. Make a gym map with the hoops drawn and colored in, plus a model card showing a 6-cup tower in different colors.
3. Make 5 teams of 5 in lines behind a starting line, each with its map and model card.
4. The first runner checks which color the tower needs next, finds the closest hoop of that color on the map, goes there, brings back one cup and places it. Then they high-five the next teammate.
5. A team that finishes a tower matching the model raises hands; the teacher checks and hands them a new model card. Play about 12 minutes.
6. Between rounds, the teacher switches the colors of some hoops on the map and in the gym so students have to read it again.

Rules

• One cup per trip, and move with a fast walk, not a run, in the gym.
• If the tower falls, the team rebuilds it with no penalty.
• Wait behind the line until you get the high five.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the student is the builder who places the cups and reads the model, or makes trips to the closest hoops.
• Visual impairment: cups with a different texture for each color and a raised map made with dot stickers.
• Fitness level: far hoops are for students who want to move more; the team decides where each runner goes.

Learning goals

• Read a simple map of the gym to locate objects.
• Choose the shortest route among several options.
• Work as a team to copy a model.

Equipment for a class of 25

• stacking cups: 60
• maps: 5
• hoops: 8
• cards: 15

Teacher tip

In small spaces, call for fast walking, not running, to avoid collisions. Keep extra cups in every hoop so they do not run out before the round ends.

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