Professional+Development

As a teacher of early literacy I value every students knowledge and abilities.By having this field experience and by doing all of the literacy assessments I have learned that every student will be on a different level of reading and writing. I learned that as a teacher I need to accommodate every student based on their needs. I also have learned the importance of sharing how important early literacy is with our students so they can learn to appreciate and love reading and writing.
 * What do you value as a teacher of early literacy?**

Students need a lot of support and modeling in early development.This model simply means that as a teacher I teach something to my students, I work with my students and then I guide them to work on a more independent level or by themselves. This model works well in children's early literacy development because the students start off with a lot of support and eventually leads them to work independently on their own.
 * How does the "to-with-by" model of instruction (also referred to as balanced literacy) support children's early development?**

Formative assessment is definitely an important part in supporting children's literacy development. During this stage children are just beginning to explore and find out what kind of readers they are. Running records and spelling inventories are great ways to assess children's needs and are used throughout all types of classrooms for any age or grade.
 * What is the role of formative assessment in supporting children's literacy development pre-k-3?**

The common core standards are what we as teachers use to create our lessons plan around. As a teacher we must abide by these standards and stick to the curriculum but we must also be creative and flexible with how we use the standards for our lessons. We need to be able to adapt the standards in order to fit all different types of students and their needs.
 * How do the common core standards inform your work with children?**

Working with your colleagues is most definitely beneficial for not only the teachers but most importantly the students. By taking all different ideas we share with one another we are able to create the best possible lessons for our students. Having more people talk and brainstorm about a subject is always better than doing it by yourself. You will come up with ideas as a group that you would might not of ever thought of on your own.
 * How do professional collaborations help support children's learning?**