Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Our goal is to teach your child to read effectively and efficiently. To do that, there is a general developmental sequence that students progress through as they become increasingly skilled learners. Our teachers and tutors constantly assess your child to determine the right reading instruction that best meets his or her needs. This may be 1:1 tutoring or small group instruction.

Middle School students meet once a day with their English Language Arts (ELA) class, covering all aspects of reading and writing. Using students' learning profiles, educators set class goals, define curricula, and set the pace to ensure the specific needs of each student are met.

Reading Approach - Strategies and skills are taught related to decoding, (Orton-Gillingham), fluency, morphology, vocabulary, comprehension, recognition of plot structure, fiction and nonfiction text analysis, and literary devices.

Writing Approach - Focus is on the process of writing using the acronym POWER (plan, organize, write, evaluate, and reflect). By approaching writing as a process, teachers encourage students to postpone closure on a piece of writing until they have explored all of its possibilities for improvement. Writing goals are differentiated by class and by student.

Other Language-Based Skills covered in ELA - Note-taking, group collaboration, presenting and speaking in front of peers, active class participation, and self-advocacy.

Every middle school student is assigned a focus area class, which is an opportunity for students to receive additional specialized instruction in an area of great need. Through a diagnostic and prescriptive approach, academic leaders analyze data, work samples, and teachers' recommendations in order to assign the most appropriate focus area course. Focus area teachers will communicate class-specific goals with families at the start of the school year. Focus area courses include:

• Orton-Gillingham (individual and small group)
• Comprehension & Vocabulary
• Written Expression (Grammar, Sentence Structure, Paragraph/Essay Structure)
• Reading and Writing through the Hero’s Journey
• Math Thinking & Problem Solving; Number Sense; Fluency
• Math/Language Focus Area; Executive Functioning

Our math curriculum is designed to teach students how to think. Traditional math, where facts and computations are memorized, does not harness the strengths of students with dyslexia. We take a different approach.

Carroll math teachers nourish students’ logic and problem-solving skills to empower them to grow their mathematical intuitions. We accomplish this by assessing each student and setting class goals that are targeted to the class’ unique set of strengths and challenges.

Our mathematics content is guided by the Common Core Curriculum Frameworks for each grade, and includes: Foundations, Fundamentals, Introduction to Pre-Algebra, Pre-Algebra, Introduction to Algebra, Algebra, Algebra I.

We aim to help students understand and connect to the people and the world around them, in a present and historical context. Using history and social studies as a backdrop, our teachers lead projects and activities that allow students to practice language, comprehension, vocabulary, written expression, and mapping & organizational skills.

Students demonstrate their understanding of geography and history studies by engaging in and completing written, oral, multi-sensory, and multimedia projects and reports. History lessons also encourage students to develop a sense of social and civic responsibility including critical thinking and perspective taking.

Grade 6: World Geography & Early Civilizations
Grade 7: Ancient Greece & Rome, Colonial America, Development of US government
Grade 8: US History (from Westward expansion to Cold War)

Children with dyslexia often see the world differently. That's why our science classes are designed to engage students in hands-on, multi-sensory activities that build upon their strengths to think critically and creatively.

To help these skills, science teachers design projects and experiments that foster the following skills: observation, recognition of similarities and differences, categorization, sequencing, recognition of patterns, recognition of part to whole relationships, determination of cause and effect relationships, recognition and control of variables, making predictions, and drawing conclusions.

Topics follow the MA Curriculum Frameworks: Earth as a System (6th), Physical Science (7th), and Life Science (8th).

Speech and Language pathologists employ a collaborative, classroom-based intervention model. Through collaboration with family members and Carroll staff, the speech-language pathology department works to foster the receptive and expressive language skills necessary for students to have positive experiences while effectively engaging with peers, teachers, and curriculum.

At Carroll, we hand craft each student’s schedule to give that child what they most need.

Flex Block provides additional time for students to receive well-designed, thoughtful curriculum from trained faculty within carefully crafted groups. Throughout the year, students participate in the following three strands: skills development, targeted cognitive intervention (TCI), and health and wellness.

We’ve discovered that helping students with key cognitive development skills directly impacts their ability to read, comprehend, write, and problem solve.

In the Targeted Cognitive Intervention (TCI) program, cognitive profiles reveal where learning weaknesses exist. Using games and activities, TCI directly targets those underlying deficits in areas such as reaction time, processing speed, visual working memory, verbal working memory, and many forms of executive function to help strengthen the underlying learning skills of each student.

Children with dyslexia often have prolific talents. We celebrate the dyslexic advantage by giving students opportunities to embrace their strengths through art, music, movement, and outdoor education.

(a) The Studio Arts program is designed to foster self-expression, self-confidence, and lifelong curiosity by building skills, tool technique, and concepts through a wide variety of artistic media.

(b) The Performing Arts program develops students' skills, knowledge, and confidence to share their unique thoughts and ideas with their community and the world. Through a variety of creative mediums (drama, music, improv, etc.), students explore and experiment with concepts that support self-expression and ensemble building.

(c) The Physical Education program promotes students’ gross motor skills, aerobic fitness, body strength, flexibility and eye hand/foot coordination, and social interaction skills.

(d) The Bounders outdoor education program challenges students in an energetic, non-competitive setting to take healthy risks; develop self-reliance, problem-solving, and risk assessment skills; work within a group, taking on a leadership role, and communicating with others; and connect to the natural world.

We believe that technology, when used appropriately, can bolster learning. At Carroll, children learn how computers, tablets, apps, and the internet can positively support their education.

In the Middle School, all students are assigned an individual Chromebook to use during the school day. Our Educational Technology team hand selects grade-appropriate resources and tools that best meets the needs of each student, teacher, classroom, and project. Likewise, teachers are encouraged and trained to use technology that supports, not replaces, learning.

Technology is always used under close supervision from a teacher and is intended to be another engaging tool through which children can learn and begin to build 21st century skills.