First grade teacher vs 4th grade teacher

The differences between first grade teachers and 4th grade teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a first grade teacher has an average salary of $49,757, which is higher than the $47,619 average annual salary of a 4th grade teacher.

The top three skills for a first grade teacher include classroom management, math and social studies. The most important skills for a 4th grade teacher are classroom management, math, and mathematics curriculum.

First grade teacher vs 4th grade teacher overview

	First Grade Teacher	4th Grade Teacher
Yearly salary	$49,757	$47,619
Hourly rate	$23.92	$22.89
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	70,517	68,138
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does a first grade teacher do?

First-grade teachers are the first instructors of children after they finished the kindergarten level. They play an essential role as children aged six to seven move to more structured learning. Generally, they set an exciting tone of learning for the fundamental skills in writing, reading, and math. These teachers create and give effective learning activities to the children to enhance their physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development. They have to effectively manage the classroom and ensure that all students are safe. Also, they give regular assessments to children to evaluate if their teaching method is effective and to determine the learning style of each child. Additionally, they need to communicate with parents, guardians, and principals on the progress of the children.

What does a 4th grade teacher do?

A 4th Grade Teacher educates 4th grade children and creates an environment with high standards in education and personal growth. They teach children various subjects such as reading, vocabulary, math, science, and art.

First grade teacher vs 4th grade teacher salary

First grade teachers and 4th grade teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	First Grade Teacher	4th Grade Teacher
Average salary	$49,757	$47,619
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $65,000	Between $35,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Shady Side Academy	Tucson Electric Power
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between first grade teacher and 4th grade teacher education

There are a few differences between a first grade teacher and a 4th grade teacher in terms of educational background:

	First Grade Teacher	4th Grade Teacher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Elementary Education	Elementary Education
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

First grade teacher vs 4th grade teacher demographics

Here are the differences between first grade teachers' and 4th grade teachers' demographics:

	First Grade Teacher	4th Grade Teacher
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5%	Male, 19.4% Female, 80.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 3.6% White, 69.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between first grade teacher and 4th grade teacher duties and responsibilities

First grade teacher example responsibilities.

Used technology such as scanning documents, creating hyperlinks and PowerPoint to document student progress for student lead conferences.
Prepare and plan literacy and math centers daily to encourage student achievement and socialization skills.
Develop standards-based curricula including a balance literacy program, math and writers' workshops and after school intervention program.
Implement the PBIS social emotional development program.
Employ PBIS to reenforce positive behavior among students.
Focuse on ESL students using methodical scaffolding, with an emphasis on citizenship and literacy.

4th grade teacher example responsibilities.

Facilitate reading groups including ESL and special needs students to monitor comprehension and progress of skills.
Work together as a team to implement the RTI program to support the students in small groups.
Use data to generate specific lessons, small group instruction, and target intervention (RTI) groups.
Differentiate teaching to meet the needs of gift, EIP, IEP, and general education students in the classroom.
Meet with intervention specialist, speech therapist, tutors, parents and principal regarding the needs of students and IEP goals.
Instruct diverse student population including ESL and special education students.

First grade teacher vs 4th grade teacher skills

Common first grade teacher skills

Classroom Management, 29%
Math, 13%
Social Studies, 5%
Professional Development, 4%
Classroom Environment, 4%
Language Arts, 3%

Common 4th grade teacher skills

Classroom Management, 19%
Math, 12%
Mathematics Curriculum, 6%
Social Studies, 6%
Professional Development, 6%
Student Learning, 5%

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First Grade Teacher
First Grade Teacher vs 4th Grade Teacher

Updated January 8, 2025

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