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THE GALLOWAY LOWER SCHOOL PROGRAM
The Galloway Lower School years are structured to help students develop positive habits and attitudes toward learning that will remain with them for a lifetime. Elementary students explore their capabilities through a wide variety of experiential, hands-on activities. Developmentally appropriate literacy and mathematics instruction incorporates quality, cutting-edge resources using whole and small group instruction as well as teacher-lead guided reading and math instruction. We teach procedures and routines with consistency to prepare our young learners to become more accountable for their learning and work in cooperative groups, with partners, and individually to provide real world structures. We prepare our young learners for high success and ignite a strong love for learning!
Along with the high expectations and rigorous academic program, elementary school students participate in unique trips to Camp Allen, San Antonio and Colonial Williamsburg. These extraordinary field trips are always engaging, insightful, and memorable experiences for students and their parents. This is one of many ways The Galloway experience provides the ultimate educational advantage.
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READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS:
Researchers have made a lot of progress in determining how to teach reading more effectively, but it really comes down to the effectiveness of each individual teacher. Teachers make the difference, and Galloway has the best!
One reading myth that gets repeated in educational circles is, “Children in grades preschool to second grade learn to read, and beginning with the third grade, students read to learn.” At Galloway we believe that children are learning to read and reading to learn at the same time, by practicing and applying reading strategies, as well as by deepening their knowledge of letter and sound relationships, word families, and spelling patterns. Emerging readers in Preschool through second grade are exposed to a wide variety of reading genres and comprehension strategies
Reading-strategy lessons help students to comprehend, recall, and analyze information in fiction, nonfiction, and content textbooks. At this level, students practice decoding long, multisyllabic words and using clues in the text to understand new words. Learners expand their vocabulary by building words using prefixes, suffixes, and Latin and Greek roots. Students in the Upper Elementary Grades (3rd-5th) engage in a wide variety of reading experiences through novel studies and basal anthology selections.
ENGLISH, READING, AND LANGUAGE ARTS:
- Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts.
- Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, sufficient detail, and a summative, analytical conclusion.
- Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information.
- Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and
- Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing.
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MATH:
Mathematical concepts and applications are addressed in a meaningful context with a strong emphasis on time, measurement, money, geometry, reasoning, problem solving strategies and critical thinking. Experiences with three-dimensional manipulative materials are essential to developing understanding. Mathematical problem-solving is a focal point of our math instruction. New for the 2014-2015 school year is the debut of Math In Focus, the U.S.version of the Singapore Math Program. In the Singapore system, the means to mastery is problem solving, and the beauty of the approach is that the majority of students are well prepared to tackle increasingly difficult topics, such as fractions and ratio, when they are introduced in the third through fifth grades. Those students are also then typically ready for algebra and geometry in middle school. Students who demonstrate strong performance on taught skills will receive more challenging class assignments and homework. Our goal is to ensure each child reaches their full potential and excels in a supportive and encouraging classroom environment. Our commitment to keeping class sizes under 13 students through the 2nd grade, our students receive the instructional support required to achieve a strong math foundation.
SOCIAL STUDIES AND SCIENCE
Our social studies and science curriculum in preschool through 3rd grades follows the Core Knowledge Program.This curriculum is rigorous, engaging, and builds upon prior knowledge and skills acquired in geography and history. Units such as: Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, Early Exploration of the Americas, Mayans and Aztecs, Ancient China and Canada are all areas taught through project-based / inquiry-based lessons. These lessons teach key history and geography topics at each consecutive level.
SPECIALS:
Enrichment classes are taught by teachers specialized in their field. Spanish, Physical Education, Music, Art, and Technology are provided to PreK-3 through 8th grade students. New specials for the 2014-2015 school year are: Global Education through the IPC (Internaational Primary Curriculum) for grades PreK-3 - 4th grades and the IMYC (International Middle Years Curriculum) for grades 5-8, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Lab for all grade levels, and Writing Lab for grades K-8.
LOWER SCHOOL STRUCTURE
The Lower School classes are self-contained with one core academic teacher. Students receive their core academic instruction in a small class with an average student-teacher ration of 12:1.
- Literacy Block – Teachers trained in diagnostic reading assessment determine current reading instructional levels for each student and provide daily guided reading in small groups. Literacy centers are included to reinforce skill development. Students participate in activities such as responding to literature through writing, practicing shared and independent reading, learning proper grammar and mechanics, and participating in ongoing handwriting instruction.
- Math - Critical thinking, problem solving, number sense, time, money, and geometry are the focus.
- Science/Environment - Observing, predicting, discovering, questioning, classifying and forming conclusions.
- Social Studies/Cultural - Multicultural awareness, Careers, American Heroes and Texas history and culture
- Spanish - Spanish instruction begins as early as PreK-3 through 8th grades. The end goal is to produce fluent Spanish language speakers who will have the ability to pass the Spanish I test by the 8th grade.
- Technology – Computer lab (learning computer tools and applications and B.Y.O.D. (Bring Your Own Device) to school. Galloway 3-year olds through Kindergarten bring their own iPads to school at least two days per week. Beginning in the 1st grade, students use tablets or laptops.
- Religion and Service – All Galloway students attend weekly chapel each Wednesday to learn about the bible, discuss good virtues, and develop an awareness, acceptance and appreciation for classmates of diverse faiths.
- Art & Music - Students in grades PreK-3-8th grades receive art and music instruction twice weekly.
- Physical Education - Physical fitness is very important in the life of Galloway students. For this reason, students receive structured physical education instruction a minimum of three times each week with daily recess encouraged.
- Field Trips - One of the hallmarks of a Galloway education are the outstanding field trips planned for students to enrich their studies. From Yellowstone to Colonial Williamsburg, Galloway invites families to participate in week-long trips that serve as a culmination to a year-long curriculum in social studies or science.
- Service Learning - All Galloway students begin learning the importance of helping others through community service beginning at age 3. Each grade level participates in at least one community service project each semester.
- Galloway Green Ribbon Program - Galloway is green from its primary school color to its adoption of the National Green Ribbon Schools Environmental Education Program. Each grade level adopts one of four components of the Green Ribbon Schools Program to develop into a year-long project that will be submitted to the National Green Ribbon School Organization for approval and credit. These completed projects are combined school-wide to receive the Green Ribbon School Award for a given year.
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