First grade teacher vs language arts teacher

The differences between first grade teachers and language arts teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a language arts teacher has an average salary of $51,969, which is higher than the $49,757 average annual salary of a first grade teacher.

The top three skills for a first grade teacher include classroom management, math and social studies. The most important skills for a language arts teacher are classroom management, curriculum development, and literature.

First grade teacher vs language arts teacher overview

	First Grade Teacher	Language Arts Teacher
Yearly salary	$49,757	$51,969
Hourly rate	$23.92	$24.99
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	70,517	88,551
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	2

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 language arts teacher do?

A language arts teacher is responsible for teaching the English language to the students, improving their written and oral English communication by sharing the best practices, conducting engaging lesson plans, assigning group activities, and providing comprehensive educational materials. Language arts teachers strictly adhere to the learning curriculum, as well as monitoring the students' progress through individual evaluation, identifying their areas of improvement, and adjust learning strategies to address the difficulties. They also encourage the students to attend workshops, programs, and other extracurricular activities relating to the subject matter.

First grade teacher vs language arts teacher salary

First grade teachers and language arts teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	First Grade Teacher	Language Arts Teacher
Average salary	$49,757	$51,969
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $65,000	Between $40,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New York	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Shady Side Academy	Boston Public Schools
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between first grade teacher and language arts teacher education

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

	First Grade Teacher	Language Arts Teacher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Elementary Education	English
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

First grade teacher vs language arts teacher demographics

Here are the differences between first grade teachers' and language arts teachers' demographics:

	First Grade Teacher	Language Arts Teacher
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5%	Male, 22.9% Female, 77.1%
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, 10.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between first grade teacher and language arts 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.

Language arts teacher example responsibilities.

Lead daily reading group of below-level, first-grade readers and teach mathematics to a small group of mentally gift first-graders.
Instruct through lectures, discussions and demonstrations in physics, chemistry and astronomy.
Conduct all assessments for grade level in language arts, and provide IEP specific instruction within mainstream classroom.
Instruct diverse student population, including ESL and special education students.
Design and teach integrated curriculum covering aspects of chemistry, earth science and life science.
Develop or participate in student IEP or 504 plans and meetings to ensure all student needs are met.

First grade teacher vs language arts 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 language arts teacher skills

Classroom Management, 24%
Curriculum Development, 10%
Literature, 6%
Student Learning, 5%
Grammar, 4%
Public Schools, 4%

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First Grade Teacher vs Language Arts Teacher

Updated January 8, 2025

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