Drums were a way of communication between tribes in Africa. Drums were made from wood and animal skins. Make a mini drum with disposable cups by gluing the bottoms of two cups together. Teachers can pre-glue with a low-temperature glue gun to speed up the process. Tear off 5-inch lengths of masking tape and use several rows to cover the mouth of both cups. Secure the tape to the sides of the cup. Use a rag to gently rub brown shoe polish on the masking tape, then wipe it off just to leave the stain and let it dry. Use markers to make African designs on the side of the cups.
African masks and shields are a work of art. Most are made from wood with carved faces. First-grade students can make them from corrugated cardboard. Pre-cut mask shapes for the kids to decorate. They can paint facial features on them as they wish or use cardboard or easy-to-cut craft foam to make three-dimensional features. Cut out two or three eyes and glue them on top of one another, then glue them to the mask. Do the same for the other eye and other features. Paint the mask and let it dry.
Most Africans in the rain forests do not wear pants with pockets, so they have to carry everything in a pouch around their necks. Kids can make their own by cutting tan craft foam to measure 4½ inches by 6 inches. Each child will need two pieces. Hold the pieces together and punch holes with a hole punch at equal distances around both long sides and one short side. Cut a 4-foot long piece of hemp and, starting at one end, string the hemp through the first hole, tie it in a knot, loop it around and string through the next hole to sew the pouch together. Continue around, stringing colorful beads on the hemp as it is sewn. Tie the hemp off at the last hole. Cut another piece of hemp to tie around the neck and tie each end to a hole on either side of the opening. Decorate the pouch with markers.
A good luck charm in Morocco, a country in Africa, looks like a hand with fingers together and thumb up. It is called a Khamsa and is often made with silver. Khamsa means five in Arabic, and the hand has five fingers including the thumb. Trace around the hand with fingers together on aluminum foil or metallic scrapbook paper. Cut the hand out and glue it to construction paper. Embellish the hand with markers, crayons, glitter glue, buttons, sequins and beads.