Upper School (Grades 8-9)

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 reading instruction that best meets their needs. Using students' learning profiles, educators set class goals, define curricula, and set the pace to ensure the specific needs of each student are met.

8th Grade

8th grade students develop foundational reading and writing skills related to decoding (Orton-Gillingham), fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, recognition of plot structure, fiction and nonfiction text analysis, and the process of writing. In reading, students learn to apply active reading strategies to help understand and make meaningful connections with text, as well as how to discuss and answer questions. In writing, students learn the EmPOWER (plan, organize, write, evaluate, and revise) approach and apply those strategies to independent assignments.

9th Grade

As students advance into 9th grade, their reading skills move from the concrete understanding or comprehension of a text to a more nuanced analysis of theme, tone, and style. Through discussion, writing, active reading, and presentations, students show an ability to interpret the meaning of what they read. Likewise, 9th grade English explicitly targets writing skills as students work to read, understand, and engage with the written word. Using the EmPOWER method, they develop their writing process; from pre-writing skills, to outlines and organizers, to multiple drafts, and finally to a revised final draft.

Additional Language-Based Skills

Other skills covered in ELA include: note-taking, group collaboration, presenting and speaking in front of peers, active class participation, text-to-speech technology, and self-advocacy

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 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: Pre-Algebra,  Algebra, and Geometry.

At Carroll, we believe to understand the present, we must first understand the past. Using history as a backdrop, our educators guide inquiry-based lessons and projects designed to allow students to practice critical thinking, note-taking, outlining, language, comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and organizational skills.

Students learn to think like a historian by analyzing primary sources, questioning biases, engaging in discussion and debate, and viewing various events in history through multiple perspectives. Through written, multisensory, and multimedia projects and reports, our students are encouraged to develop a sense of social and civic responsibility, ultimately learning how to think for themselves, but to also think of others.

• Grade 8: US History 19th and Early 20th Centuries
• Grade 9: World Civilization (Ottoman Empire, Chines Dynasties, Byzantine Empire, Pre-Columbian Periods)

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, and relate to real-world examples and experiences. Students are provided with chances to explore, ask questions, experiment, make mistakes, re-test, design, and discover through STEAM activities.

Science educators design projects and experiments that foster the following skills: observation, recognition of similarities, differences and patterns, recognition of part to whole relationships, making predictions and drawing conclusions, taking design challenges, and expressing written information & data in clear and concise writing.

• Grade 8: Biology & Life Sciences
• Grade 9: Physics

Every 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 educator recommendations in order to assign the most appropriate focus area course. Focus area educators 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)
• Math Thinking & Problem Solving

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 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.

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 creative arts and movement.

Studio Arts

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

MOVEMENT

The Movement program promotes students’ gross motor skills, aerobic fitness, body strength, flexibility and eye hand/foot coordination, while encouraging healthy lifestyle activities and positive social interactions.

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 Upper 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.

How students approach their education is a key marker of future success. Upper School educators are trained to reinforce key student skills such as self-advocacy, independent application of strategies, and growth mindset.

Guiding students to be independent in their work helps prepare them to meet the academic rigor of high school. In-school independent study with educator guidance provides 9th graders the opportunity to learn how to prioritize and initiate their work, as well as get a jump start on homework.