Carmody School Curriculum

The Carmody School Curriculum is designed for students in 2nd-8th Grade. Teachers in the program have experience using and teaching many different supplemental reading and writing programs, but we have found the following researched-based teaching methods to be effective for our students.

Carmody school teacher works one on one with a student.

“The positive transformation in our child is stunning. He is proud of his work and knows deep down that he is intelligent and a worthwhile student. He now enjoys learning. This change will stay with him for the rest of his life. The Carmody program works! It is deeply transformative on so many levels, not just academically. The teachers in The Carmody School have significantly changed the trajectory of our son’s life. RCDS is a very special place, and we are so very grateful to be a part of it.”

– Erica and Scott Smith, Carmody School Parents

Lower School Carmody Curriculum Overview
Lower School Carmody instructional methods are designed to teach children academic skill so that they "learn how to learn". Skills are directly and systematically taught, reinforced, and retaught throughout the program and at grade level. These children learn best through direct, systematic teaching using a multi-sensory approach. All subjects reflect the importance of the kinesthetic and tactile modalities to reinforce and bond the visual and auditory pathways for learning. Teachers meet regularly between divisions (RCDS and JSCS) to plan, develop, coordinate, and evaluate curriculum.

All JSCS Lower School students have a daily reading class, math, Wilson Reading classes 5x/cycle, and regular written expression classes. In addition to the content built into these courses, they are designed to teach and practice reading, writing, and study skills. Students have an opportunity to apply what they are learning in each of these classes to their science and social studies classes in a general education setting.

Upper School Carmody Curriculum Overview
In Upper School students are faced with an increased amount of work to accomplish and, thus must learn to work more efficiently to be successful. Students in JSCS are explicitly taught executive functioning skills in addition to their academic subjects.

All Upper School JSCS students have one JSCS teacher who is their language arts, literature and study skills teacher and one math teacher. In this way, teachers are able to develop close relationships with students and guide them as needed.

Upper School JSCS students have learned how to read, but often struggle with reading fluency and integrating the study skills necessary to complete multi-step and long term assignments. The goal of our Upper School program is for students to succeed in a challenging independent school curriculum, while simultaneously strengthening their component reading, writing, math, and study skills. Students must understand those areas where they are weaker and advocate for themselves with their teachers.

Orton Gillingham Multi-sensory Based Language Instruction Program

Wilson Reading Program

Megawords Supplemental Reading Program

Megawords teaches the reading, spelling, and contextual use of polysyllabic words through a systematic progression of skills. Each book focuses on a distinct group of phonic skills. Specific teaching instructions are provided to ensure that students use their auditory, visual, and kinesthetic modalities when learning a skill. The process of seeing, saying, hearing, and writing is a major key to success. Thus, the students practice spelling the words as they learn to read them.

Multi-sensory Approach to Writing and Grammar: Framing Your Thoughts – Project Read

Project Read Written Expression curriculum and instructional strategies inspire and energize students as they learn the fundamentals of writing. The curriculum teaches written language sequentially and systematically, coupling creative freedom with direct multi-sensory skill instruction. Instruction progresses from simple sentences through five kinds of paragraph development. This program has students diagram sentences, creating a visual image for those who benefit from visual input, sky write for those who benefit from tactile input, and verbally repeat information for those who benefit from auditory input.

The Read Naturally Strategy

The Read Naturally Strategy combines the three powerful, research-proven strategies of teacher-modeling, repeated reading, and progress monitoring to create an effective tool that individualizes instruction and improves reading proficiency. Using audio support and tracking their progress, students work with high-interest material at their skill level to improve fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

The Read Naturally Strategy:
• Builds fluency
• Increases accuracy
• Promotes comprehension
• Supports vocabulary
• Reinforces sight words
• Builds automaticity in decoding
• Motivates students to read
• Increases self-esteem and self-confidence
• Differentiates instruction
• Provides feedback to students and teachers
• Increases the amount of time spent reading

Stevenson’s Essential Grammar Program

Stevenson's Essential Grammar Program uses mnemonic clues to improve memory. This method provides students with the foundation they need to master the process of writing. Students learn to identify parts of speech and understand their functions. They learn to use words correctly, to generate phrases, and compose sentences and paragraphs. All the material is put into simple, logical order, while each piece of information builds upon the previous one and students constantly review what they have learned to make sure the skills are being mastered.

Multi-sensory Approach to Math Instruction

The Jayne S. Carmody School’s goal for mathematics is to develop each student’s number concept, strengthen and solidify each student’s number sense and have students work through all levels mathematics with fluidity. During introduction stages of new mathematical concepts, the use of physical manipulatives is important to develop understanding. Students work towards being able to pictorially represent the concept at hand. With this firm understanding in place, students work on traditional mathematical algorithms in order to solve problems with accuracy and efficiency.

Students must have a strong mathematical number sense to build on as they move through the curriculum. The Jayne S. Carmody School teachers meet the individual student’s needs by tailoring grade level curriculum and spiraling back to basic number concepts as needed.

Executive Functioning Skills Instruction

The SOAR® Executive Functioning Curriculum is a simple set of skills to help students organize and study efficiently. SOAR® teaches students how to:

Identify students' strengths & “Super Powers” (according to Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences)
Set goals
Establish priorities
Manage time
Organize papers, desks, lockers, & other space
Speak & listen effectively
Work with teachers & peers
Read and understand textbooks
Take notes
Study for tests
Write research papers
Prepare for presentations
Track long-term goals

Additional Services

Occupational and Speech Therapy

Occupational and Speech Therapy

The Jayne S. Carmody School offers Occupational and Speech therapy for students who qualify for such services. Students are assessed and interventions are determined based on the individual child’s specific needs, small group, one to one or a push-in model. Therapists are contracted through Shore Kids Pediatric Therapies. Students outside of the JSCS may receive services during the school day if therapy is warranted.

The JSCS Occupational Therapists have specific knowledge and expertise to help children perform school-related activities and daily routines to fulfill their roles as students. They use a comprehensive approach when assessing student's performance across a broad range of skills through participation in individually designed activities and supported work on classroom assignments. They also assists our students with many tasks, including executive functioning skills, written work, number sense, visual spatial skills, and use of assistive technology. Please contact Natalie Diehl, Director of Student Services, ndiehl@rcds.org, for more information.

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