Curriculum Night

A bit about Mrs. Headland 

• 15th year teaching
• Western Washington University Special Education & Elementary Education BA
• Married my best friend for 22 years
• 3 sons and a beautiful daughter-in-law
• 2 crazy dogs
• Lake Stevens is home
• Favorite place to be...any beach
• Love hiking, golfing, and REFIT
• Books audio, digital, paperback (any format)...I love them all!

Obi and Cookie

Longest drive winners...I was pretty surprised.

Jacob, Riley, and I at the happiest place on earth.

Jacob moving into WWU.

Just Married! Tyler and Karlea 

Classroom Community

My belief is to create a risk free environment where every student feels safe and confident to try new things.

First graders work on developing the skills needed to be successful as individuals and as a learning team, including:
Speaking & Listening 
Responsibility & Diligence
Cooperation & Collaboration
Empathy, Courtesy, & Kindness

Classroom Promise:
Be Safe
Be Kind
Be Respectful
Do Your Best

We agreed to adopt this "promise" after activities and lessons surrounding what we want and need as learners. 

Discipline is handled with restorative practices, positive behavior reminders, and practice. I always bring behavior back to our classroom promise. 

Postive Recognition:
Cougar Slips
Stickers
Mystery Rewards
Daily Verbal Praise!

Birthdays

We recognize birthdays with a song, a picture, and many heartfelt wishes. We celebrate without food.

Communication

H.E.R.O. Folders: flyers, student work, notes & money (Thursday is the main day for sending home items.)
Newsletter: published Bi-weekly
Remind Text Alerts:
Enter this number 81010 

Text this message: @pheadland

Private photo sharing app:Photo Circle available for Apple and Android 
Classroom link: https://join.photocircleapp.com/KYexEy 
Class pin: 769908

You can always call (360)563-7075 and email paula.headland@sno.wednet.edu me too. I try hard to respond to emails within the same day. Remember if it's urgent please call and the office staff will relay a message to me.

Typical Schedule

Morning Work and Meeting

Literacy

Recess

Snack/Read Aloud
Writing/Daily 5 Small Groups

Lunch & Recess
D.E.A.R. (Drop everything and read) 
Number Corner

Specialist: 
PE Monday & Wednesday
Music Tuesday & Thursday
Library Thursday
Math
Recess

Social Studies/Science/Technology

Pack up/Dismissal

Odds and Ends

Lunch Boxes

• Please have your child's name on the outside of the box
• Lunch boxes go missing often because of misplacement in classroom carts
• We check daily for missing boxes so please be patient it can take a couple days to find them sometimes

Clothing

• Dress for the weather
• Layers and name tags are great! Please be mindful of the effect your child's clothing may have on his/her academic focus

Toys

• Toys from home are not permitted in classrooms and must be kept in your child's backpack out of sight (unless requested for sharing)
• Please do not allow your child to bring anything of value to school

Snacks

• We have a brief snack time daily
• Shared community snack
• Personal water bottles are encouraged
  

What We Will Learn (CCSS )

Reading

Fountas and Pinnell Classroom

• Interactive Read Aloud-trade books for discussions and comprehension work
• Shared Reading-Big books and poems
• Reading Mini Lessons-literary analysis, strategies, skills, and writing about reading
• Phonics and Word Study-phonemic awareness,phonics and sight words
• Guided Reading-decoding strategies and comprehension strategies working in flexible groups
• Book Clubs-partner and small groups sharing books
• Independent reading- time to read self selected books

Daily 5 & CAFE

Read at home for 20 minutes each day

• Classroom book bags
• "I Can Read" Poetry & Comprehension binder
• Scholastic News & Mini Readers
• Please make sure to read aloud to your child on a regular basis 
• Discuss books to promote comprehension strategies

Writing and Spelling

P-3/DMA Writing

• Developmental stages (phonetic or "best guess" spelling)
• G.U.M. spelling strategy: Guess, Underline, Move-on
• Development of ideas with details, organization, spelling, conventions (sophistication increases throughout year)
• Workshop mini-lessons: students have choice in their own topics
• Weekly shared and guided writing
• Publishes work with help
• Types of writing: narratives, informational, opinion

Spelling

• Integrated into P-3/DMA writing program
• No weekly tests, but ongoing classroom & home practice
• Quarterly assessment in written pieces and individually
• "No excuse" spelling words will be from the Dolch Word Lists & DMA program

Mathematics

Bridges Math Program

• Hands on learning fosters interest and enjoyment in math
• Use of visual models and research based teaching methods
• Helps students master skills and math concepts to solve problems beyond the classroom
• Aligned with CCSS

1st Grade Focus:

• Number System through 120
• Addition/Subtraction through 20
• Story Problems for all unknowns
• Measurement nonstandard units, time, order by length
• Geometry 2-D & 3-D attributes, composing, and decomposing shapes
• Patterns and functions (skip counting 2's, 5's, and 10's)
• Algebraic sense (balancing equations)
• Place value to hundreds

Parent and student support webpage click on the image below.

Social Studies

Social Studies Alive!
Second Steps
Kelso's Choices

• School rules
• Social skills & problem solving
• Families
• Traditions, holidays, and observances
• Needs & Wants

Science

FOSS Science 

• Physical Science: Balance and Motion
• Earth Science: Pebbles, Sand, and Silt

Next Generation Science Standards Units 

• Waves: light and sound
• Space Systems: patterns & cycles
• Structure and Function: use of mimicking plants or animals to solve problems & meet needs
• Heredity: inheritance & variation of traits
• Engineering Design with STEM challenges

Technology

• Digital Citizenship: staying safe online, digital trail, using keywords
• Keyboarding: identifying all letters on keyboard, using spacebar and shift, and mouse skills
• Foundational Skills: parts of computer, log on with personal username & password, click, drag, hold, & double click, interact with digital media (volume, play, stop, next, back, etc)

Homework 

• Will begin in October
• 20 minutes of reading nightly (100 minutes per week) 
• Take home reading books, comprehension checks, and poetry
• Homework Menu choices in literacy and math

Students will choose books from our classroom library to go with my selections for reading practice. Expect some books to be easier because we want to promote success not frustration in our beginning readers. Borrowed books and reading practice should be returned to school daily.

Report Cards and Grading

• Two semester report cards cover social, behavioral, and academic areas 

• Grading scale is on a numerical scale of 1-4
• 1 Little or no progress toward standard expectations
• 2 Progressing toward standard expectations
• 3 Meets grade level expectations
• 4 Exceeds grade level expectations consistently (performing a full year ahead on all domain standards)