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Elementary 'Drums Alive' club demonstrates cross-curricular instruction at board meeting
Summary
An elementary teacher and students presented the Drums Alive program to the Odessa R-VII Board, explaining how drumming activities support music, fitness, math and reading skills; staff said the club started with a grant and has wait lists.
Julie Weber, an elementary music teacher, brought students to demonstrate the Drums Alive club and described how the program supports music instruction, fitness and academic skills. Weber told the board the club began after receiving a grant from the foundation and that she runs three weekly clubs this year with about 15 students each and a waiting list.
During the demonstration, Weber described curriculum links: students practiced drumming to reinforce the alphabet (vowels with a single click and consonants with a double beat), word spelling, counting and number-place concepts (ones, tens, hundreds mapped to locations on the drum ball). She said the program "actively engages students in music, fitness, math, and reading activities that cross the curriculum" and that the activities improved concentration and classroom readiness.
Board members and the audience watched a short student performance; Weber and staff answered questions about club capacity and interest. Weber noted the club grew from classroom work using drums provided by a foundation grant and that the program has generated student enthusiasm.
Ending: The presentation concluded with the students performing and board members thanking the teacher and pupils for the demonstration.
