The essential, non-negotiable content for Elementary Education where I must cover many different ones within the classroom would be reading, writing, and math. As long as my units and lessons cover these areas of study, the required content is being addressed.
Who determines the content for my chosen teaching field is a team effort: National and state governmetns, school boards, administrators, tests, textbooks.
To find materials to teach that content I would ask my team of other teachers and use online resources.
Those materials can include lesson ideas and activities, , assessments, experience that I do not have from teachers with experience-what they have seen work and not (understaning every teacher as their own teaching styles). Online resouces can include a broad range from other teachers in the same field as myself share their ideas on the content area I am finding materials for.
A tool I would use for Getting to Know My Students would be to have my students divide into 2 equal groups. If I have an odd number that is ok, I can join in on the fun. I would have one group make a circle facing towards the center and ask the next group to make another circle inside the circle that way they are face to face. The outer circle doesn't move but only the inside circle gets to move. Discussion topics are presented on a piece of paper and clipboard. Each student writes down the answer to each question with the students name. This can be done in many different fashions, not necessairly in the cirlce you can modify however you please. This allows for the students to get to know eachother and the teacher as well! I can take this information and implement it into my lessons to invite all the students to open their minds of others likes and accomodate to their interests as well.
Another took I can use for an assessment for the second week of school to determine the skill level of my students is a Phonemic Awareness Assessment-Kindergarten.http://www.pps.k12.or.us/curriculum/literacy/video/assessments/k-phonemic.pdf
(Hubbard, 2017)
Math Assessment-http://files.hubbardscupboard.org/Math_Assessment.PDF
(Hubbard, 2017)
"I Know My...."-http://files.hubbardscupboard.org/I_Know_My_Checksheet.pdf
(Hubbard, 2017)
References
Hubbard, M. (2017). hubbardscupboard. Retrieved September 19, 2017, from http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/assessment/