Briarcliff Manor Second Graders Hold A Car Race With A Very Special Guest

Press release from the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District:

You can always count on Briarcliff teachers to turn an ordinary lesson into an engaging, hands-on activity and a memory that will last a lifetime.

Recently, as part of their math unit on measuring, second graders participated in a car race challenge called “Build, Race, Measure.”

“We are building on the application stations within our Reveal Math curriculum by adapting them into challenging extension activities that are aligned to students’ readiness levels,” said Todd Mathematics Instructional Coach Melissa Ferraro.

Students were tasked with designing and building a car at home using simple materials, such as recyclables. The challenge was then to race, measure and compare distances in school.

“The teachers liked this challenge project so much, they turned it into a grade-wide activity,” Ms. Ferraro added.

Each class held a race where students pushed their own cars and measured how far they rolled using different measurement tools such as rulers and tape measures. Students worked with units such as inches, feet and yards.

“In our measuring unit in math, we have been doing all types of measuring, using tape measures, rulers, yard sticks and meter sticks, and students are now able to compare numbers based on what they know about place value,” said second-grade teacher Jessy Vigiletti. “During this race in the classroom, students used their measuring skills to determine the two cars in each class that went the furthest.”

The entire grade, along with the eight finalists gathered in the multi-purpose room to see who would win first place.

As a surprise, and much to the students’ delight, the Briarcliff Bear showed up to push the cars during the race.

Students cheered on their classmates as the bear pushed the cars, and the finalists measured the distance that their cars rolled.

“They were so excited and there was so much camaraderie as they were cheering each other on,” Ms. Ferraro said. “The social emotional component of this community-building event is also very important, not only for the class, but for the entire grade. And I love that students can see that math and STEAM are fun and exciting and can also translate to the real world.”

Principal Jessica Michaelidis, who was in attendance, was proud of the students’ work.

“I want to congratulate the eight finalists who participated today and all of you for your remarkable sportsmanship,” she said to the students. "Congratulations on a job well-done and a big thank you to the second-grade teachers for planning such an amazing activity for you!”

This press release was produced by the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.