Allow each fourth-grade student to choose a topic relevant to African-American history to study. This may include major events or historical figures. After the students have researched their topic, provide them each with a blank quilt square and fabric markers to draw a scene depicting their topic. Once all of the students have finished their squares, sew them all together to form a quilt that can be hung up in the classroom.
Kwanzaa is an American holiday that celebrates African-American heritage, and occurs each year from December 26 to January 1. Fourth graders can learn about this holiday through a variety of art projects, including creating a unity cup or kinara centerpiece. Unity cups are made by attaching paper cups to craft sticks and using red, green, yellow and black paint to decorate. A kinara is made using red, green and black candles arranged in candle holders created and decorated by students.
Shoe boxes make an ideal base for creating African-American history dioramas. Have each student, or small groups of students, design and make a diorama depicting specific moments in African-American history. Some suggested themes are Rosa Park's famous bus ride, the inauguration of President Barack Obama, slaves working in a cotton field or African-American soldiers during the Civil War. Once the students have completed their dioramas, have them present them to the rest of the class with a brief presentation about their topic.
Provide each fourth grader with a specific theme related to African-American history. Themes may include African-American inventors, important figures during the Civil Rights Movement or African-American celebrities. Have each student locate pictures of people from their theme. Pictures can be cut out of old magazines or photo-copied from books. Glue the photos onto a sheet of paper to form a collage. You could also have the students write a few lines about each person below their picture.