Lower School (Grades 1-5)

Our goal is to teach your child to read and write effectively and efficiently. To do that, there is a developmental sequence that students progress through as they become increasingly skilled learners. Our educators constantly assess your child to determine the right instruction that best meets their needs.

OG Focus Area (TUTORING)

In OG Focus area classes, our Orton-Gillingham (OG) practitioners work with students individually, in pairs, or in small groups to build phonological awareness, decoding (word attack), reading fluency, and spelling (encoding) skills. Following OG principles, the instruction is direct, structured, systematic, and highly multi-sensory. Our practitioners are diagnostic and their daily lessons are prescriptive in direct correlation to student performance and needs.

Language Arts

Language Arts is a small group class that complements the lessons taught in tutoring and addressing domains such as oral language, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and written expression. Language Arts class offers an opportunity for students to apply the foundational skills they learn in tutoring to work with connected text and content. Mentor text is used for cross curricular connections in skill building - connecting OG strategies with vocabulary building, grammar, and written expression. Handwriting skills are directly and explicitly taught at all grade levels. Language arts teachers use 'teacher language" in a way that encourages students to extend their thinking, develop metacognitive awareness around their learning, foster self-advocacy, and hone planning and organizing skills.

SOCIAL STUDIES CONTENT

Woven into Language Arts, social studies content helps students to understand and broaden their perspective about the world - locally, globally, and historically. Curriculum program, Project Read Report Form, helps students to take apart, categorize, and understand information. Additionally, educators create projects, such as Whaling Town in 3rd grade, that immerse students in history and social studies that give them a real sense of time, place, and culture.

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 educators emphasize number sense, problem solving, and visual representation over rote memorization.

Our mathematics content is guided by the Common Core Curriculum Frameworks for each grade. To empower students to grow their mathematical intuitions, we follow these 8 practice standards:

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2. Contextualize and de-contextualize mathematical situations.
3. Justify and communicate one’s reasoning and respond to the arguments of others.
4. Apply math to solve real world problems.
5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
6. Communicate precisely.
7. Look for and make use of patterns and structure.
8. Look for general methods and shortcuts.

Defined by the motto that “mistakes are proof of trying”, our science and makers programs encourage students to be curious, to make and test hypotheses, and to think creatively. Using the principles that define the Orton-Gillingham approach, children engage in and make observations through hands-on, multi-sensory, and exploratory science, engineering, and technology projects.

In science, our youngest students practice making predictions and communicating ideas using their senses to describe life, physical, and earth sciences. As their observational and thinking skills become refined, students in 4th and 5th grade work to deepen their process skills through more complex investigations of animal habitats, local conservation, engineering, and robotics.

Makers activities in grades 1-3 are integrated into classroom instruction through the strategic use of technology, like green screen video creation and Sphero robot coding, to further reinforce content learning. In 4th and 5th grade, students participate in a dedicated class where they use the iterative design process through both 3D printing and coding units. Students learn to find a "right-size challenge" so they can continue to expand their skills as well as grow their ability to independently plan and execute a project.

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 educators within carefully crafted groups. Throughout the year, students work on developing underlying cognitive and executive function skills as well as participate in more targeted literacy interventions based on individual needs.

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, educators, and curriculum.

Each grade has dedicated time each week intentionally planned for creating a positive, cohesive, grade community. Designed collaboratively by grade leaders and educators, the community building activities include topics such as: establishing routines and expectations, reinforcing the Lower School core values of ERIK (Empathy, Respect, Inclusion, Kindness), supporting executive function and social skills development, and engaging in all-grade projects and activities.

Additionally, each grade level has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) coordinator who works alongside the larger grade team to develop appropriate curricula and practices that teach students about identity, social justice, and equity.

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 starting in grade 4, 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.

Learn More about TCI

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

Studio Arts

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.

MUSIC

The Music program develops students’ musical skill set, self-confidence, and a positive association with music through instruments, movement activities, improv, and simply musical compositions.

Makers

The Makers program aims to bring student thinking to life. Using a variety of media and tools - such as 3D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines, recording equipment, and more - students have opportunities to turn their ideas into projects. Recommended Read: Building a Middle School Makers' Haven

Physical Education

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

Bounders

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.

At the library, students learn to appreciate books and how to research and identify reliable information (print & electronic). With guidance from our library media specialist, students are encouraged to use resources for classwork, independent reading, and fun.

We believe that technology, when used appropriately, can bolster learning. At Carroll, children learn how computers, apps, and the internet can positively support their education. In the Lower 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, educators are encouraged and trained to use technology that supports, not replaces, learning.

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