This unconventional teaching method is very popular among students. Give students ready-made cookie dough and have them make the proper measurements necessary to divide the dough into individual cookies. Have them bring you the cookies on trays at the end of class. Bake the cookies, then make the class use their arithmetic skills to figure out how to properly divide the cookies for the class.
This activity helps students visualize shapes and sizes. Have them use a ruler to draw shapes with specific sizes onto a piece of paper. Sizes can use decimals and fractions if you wish to familiarize students with those measurements. The paper should be folded in quarters. Have them cut the folded papers edges into a decorative fashion as well. Have students cut out the shapes and unfold the paper. They will see an intricate and unique "snowflake pattern on the paper. This will improve students measuring skills and can give students and appreciation of mathematical elegance and regularity.
This is a fun activity that introduces students to the idea of a graph. Have students break into teams and compete in a timed activity. It may be a race, a building project or anything else that lends itself to being timed. When the students are finished, have the teams provide the times and then show the students how to make a basic bar graph. Have the students go home and draw out bar graphs in which they plot out the varying times.
This activity hones student's arithmetic and measuring skills. Have students compete in two teams on an "engineering project." They have to come up with plans for a cardboard castle and build the castle together over the course of the week. Teach them how to measure and teach basic geometric principles. For example, students must know that walls must be of the same height to align properly. Students who made the best measurements will have the most elegant cardboard castles and can win a prize at the end of the week.