Application Overview: Excellence in Early Childhood Education K-3rd Grade

Congratulations on your nomination for the TN Early Educator Awards!  YOU ROCK!!!!!

Here’s a quick glance at the application questions. We’re providing this so you can see the whole thing at once – because on the application itself the questions are mostly one per page. (You’ll see what we mean). So take a look below then head back to your personal application link and get started!

Section 1: Basic Information 

This section includes some basic information about you, your employment history, and some names of references whom we’ll contact to confirm your employment and great work.

Section 2: Questions on the 5 primary selection criteria 

These questions will help us understand your skills in supporting the development and learning of children in kindergarten through third grade.   

💡Tip: Aim for 175 – 200 words or so per answer; but there’s no penalty for shorter or longer answers.

Early elementary curriculum and instruction 

1. What specific instructional strategies do you use to ensure all students in your classroom meet essential academic standards, irrespective of where they started? 

2. How do you integrate learning across multiple domains: language/literacy, math, social studies, science, technology, and the arts? Provide a specific example of an interdisciplinary lesson or learning experience you implemented. 

3. Describe how you design an engaging, stimulating, and developmentally appropriate learning environment for your students, including physical space, daily schedule, and selection/rotation of instructional materials. 

Early literacy and math skills 

4. What specific instructional strategies do you use to teach early literacy skills tied to grade level literacy standards? 

5. How do you incorporate children’s literature and informational text in your teaching? 

6. What specific instructional strategies do you use to teach early math skills tied to grade level math standards? 

Inclusive learning environments 

7. What teaching strategies do you use to differentiate instruction for students with diverse needs, interests, and backgrounds?  

8. Describe a specific example of how you accommodated a lesson, activity, or learning environment to meet the needs of a child (or children) with a disability and/or unique learning need. 

9. If applicable, how do you include children who are English learners in lessons and learning activities?  

Academic, play-based, and social-emotional learning 

10. Provide an example of how you use play-based learning to teach academic content in your classroom. 

11. Provide an example of how you integrate social-emotional and academic learning in your classroom. 

12. How do you support the development of children’s self-regulation skills (self-control, flexible thinking, emotional regulation, appropriate behavior) in your daily classroom teaching and routines? 

Assessment data 

13. What formative and summative assessment tools, resources, and/or strategies do you use? 

14. How do you use assessment data to differentiate instruction and support individual student growth? 

Section 3: Love of teaching questions 

💡Tip: Aim for 175 – 200 words or so per answer; but there’s no penalty for shorter or longer answers.

1. Why did you decide to teach young children?  

2. What has given you the most joy in teaching?  Include a specific example of a situation that brought you that joy. 

Ok let’s get started! Head back now to your own personal application link. Reminder: It’s in the email to you from Jenny@tqee.org via Survey Monkey.

Due date: 11:59pm CST on Sunday August 25^th.     Now let your AWESOMENESS shine!