Conduct a simple field day for your class, combining physical activity, competition and measurements to help children mix exercise with mathematics. Have children take turns competing and measuring. Give them a tape measure and pencil and paper to record each competitor's results. Have them compete in the long jump by placing a piece of thick colored tape on the floor as the jumping point. Using a tape measure, see how far each student can jump. For another activity, have a student stand on a step stool while another student jumps as high as possible and touches the wall. The student on the step stool marks the spot reached and then, using the tape measure, records the height. Other field events include how far students can toss a beanbag or kick one leg up a wall.
Teach children how they can use their shadow to measure a tree. Early in the day or late in the afternoon, go outside and stand in a sunny spot. Have students work in pairs and use a tape measure to measure each other's shadow, from head to toe, in inches. Record that measurement on a piece of paper. Then have students measure each other's actual height in inches. Divide the actual height by the shadow height to find the proportion. Locate a tall tree that is casting a shadow and measure the tree's shadow with the tape measure. Record the measurement in inches. Multiply the tree's shadow height by the proportion you discovered in measuring students and you'll find the actual height of the tree in inches. To convert that figure to feet, divide by 12.
Write different measurements on index cards, such as 3 inches, 4 inches and 1 1/2 inches, and have students draw cards. Provide them with tape measures and send them to find objects of the length written on the index card. They should write the name of the object on the back of the card. Collect the index cards and have students pick again; they should find a different object than the first measurer. Repeat the activity a few times, then read the cards to find out what objects were of similar size.
Give pairs of students a handout with a simple outline of the human body and a list of body parts with a blank line beside it. Also provide the pair with a tape measure. Have the students measure themselves and record their findings. Some ideas include measuring the length of their feet, the width of their hand, knee to foot or elbow to shoulder.