Community and Connection with Drum Circles

School:: Freeport Elementary
Subject:: Teaching Quality
Teacher:: Angela Saltsman
Students Impacted:: 900
Grade:: K-5
Date:: October 5, 2021

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

The St. Joe Community Foundation - $919.80

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 1000

The entire school was able to use our new drums at some point during multiple lessons we did! Kindergarten used the drums for their "storm song" to sound like thunder, and 4 students even played them at their end of the year Kindergarten program. I have tried to ask around for pictures from parents or teachers of the program and haven't gotten any back yet (I was busy directing the show). But they looove the sound of these tubanos, especially for thunder sounds.

1st grade used them in two different lessons. The first was to play along with the song "BINGO". They had to play their drum every time we removed a letter from the verse. This helped me assess their ability to audiate, or hear the rhythm in their head. Then, they used the drums for their extensive lesson on rhythm reading and performance. Students learned various types of music notes (quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests) and had to read the pattern and play it on drums. We also added stations, where students rotated from drums to ukuleles, to guitars, and piano/keyboards.

2nd grade used drums for Literacy Week. I read to them "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad day" and students played the drums every time the words "very bad" came up in the story!

3rd grade used them to play along with a song called "Mr. Beat Boy". I ended up having one third grader literally discover his love for drumming from this activity, and his parents bought him a cajon drum and later a full drum set! 3rd grade also had a "Rock Your School Day" in which we took the drums outside for a morning drum circle!

4th graders used the drums in drum circles with a poem, as well as during a song called "Ice Age" where students played the melody on their recorders first, and then transferred their own improvised rhythm to the drums during the repeat of the song.

It has been extremely helpful and rewarding to myself and these students throughout our entire school to have enough drums for everyone-and the sound of the tubanos tune to each other. It is a very pleasing sound to the kids and they feel good to their hands, so they really enjoy playing these drums specifically. Thank you again from Freeport Elementary!!!

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1st Grade BINGO and rhythm lesson

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3rd Grade Rock Your School Day Drum circle

Original Grant Overview

Goal

The goal with these tubano drums is to have enough drums for every student in a class at any given time. We would love to be able to form a circle with our drums and learn various rhythm patterns and coordinating body movements together. Students will be able to learn how to read music by matching written patterns with what they hear on a drum.

What will be done with my students

We would love to be able to purchase four more tubano drums for our music classroom to add to our collection and our growing population of students. These drums would be used with the entire school-Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades! These drums will be used from year to year as well, benefiting thousands of children in years to come. I would love to start a teacher drum circle as well-who says all the fun is just for kids?
The activities will take place throughout the school year-for seasonal projects and especially when studying world music and other cultures. I would love to have drums for our “Rock Your School” day, where students take the drums outside and enjoy fresh air and human connection!
I expect to see not only musical improvements among my students (being able to play a steady beat together, learning various rhythm patterns, working as a team), but also to see behavioral improvements among students who are struggling. I will evaluate students’ progress by using both a performance rubric that measures their musical abilities as well as a behavioral rubric that keeps track of the social and emotional learning that will result from this as well. I will be coordinating drum circle activities with the guidance counselor, classroom teachers, behavioral specialists, and special needs teachers to report students’ progress in able to help support our school as a whole.

Benefits to my students

Drum circles are being recognized more and more for the social, emotional, and healing impact on our lives. Playing drums in a group is a commonly used practice in music therapy programs, and studies have shown that the meditative repetition of rhythm patterns have a multitude of benefits for our minds, bodies, and spirits! According to The Raven Drum Foundation, group drumming
• Reduces tension, anxiety and stress
• Helps control chronic pain
• Boosts the immune system
• Releases negative feelings, blockages and emotional trauma
• induces deep relaxation,
• lowers blood pressure,
• Creates a sense of connectedness with self and others
• Helps us experience being in resonance with the natural rhythms of life
• Provides a medium for individual self-realization

Budget Narrative

Four new tubano drums from the West Music website/company will cost $919.80. Shipping will be free.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	Remo 100 Series TU-1110-PM 10" Key-Tuned Tubano	$229.95
2	Remo 100 Series TU-1110-PM 10" Key-Tuned Tubano	$229.95
3	Remo 100 Series TU-1110-17 10" Key-Tuned Tubano Rainbow	$229.95
4	Remo 100 Series TU-1110-17 10" Key-Tuned Tubano Rainbow	$229.95
	Total:	$919.80

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