For the appropriate level, give students a handout with different sized drawings of rectangular prisms or cubes. Have students construct these shapes using sugar cubes. Sugar cubes are one-half inch cubes. Students then count the cubes. This is the volume.
Students can practice drawings three dimensional solids made up of cubes.
Give students pictures of solids constructed of cubes that are not rectangular prisms. You can put a little Elmers glue to hold these solids together. Now paint or use a marker to color or paint all of the outside surfaces. The students count the number of squares they have painted. This is surface area.