Explain to the children what a drum is and how it works. This helps get them interested in playing it. It's much easier to learn an instrument when you want to. In explaining how a drum works you can mention the importance of the shape of the "shell" and the tension of the "drumhead."
Explain to the children that you can make music with the drum by creating different rhythms and tones. Explain that rhythm is how fast or slow you are playing the drum and tone is how hard or soft you are playing the drum.
Tap the drum with your hand about every four seconds. Tell the children this is a slow rhythm. After 10 to 12 taps, use your right hand to tap once every second. Tell the children this is a fast rhythm.
Tap the drum softly with your hand about once every second. After 10 to 20 seconds, begin tapping hard every fourth tap. Tell the children this is an example of changing tone.
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 along with your students. Try to get everyone to keep the same rhythm and the same tones. This will help them learn to differentiate between different rhythms and tones which will help them understand music in general.