First grade teacher vs math teacher

The differences between first grade teachers and math teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a math teacher has an average salary of $51,088, 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 math teacher are math, classroom management, and student learning.

First grade teacher vs math teacher overview

	First Grade Teacher	Math Teacher
Yearly salary	$49,757	$51,088
Hourly rate	$23.92	$24.56
Growth rate	4%	5%
Number of jobs	70,517	59,347
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	42	43
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 math teacher do?

A math teacher is responsible for instilling analytical and statistical knowledge to the learners. The duties of a math teacher include the development of a student's problem-solving skills, practical application of formulas and logical reasoning, utilization of visual materials and other learning equipment for better comprehension, and evaluation of the students' learning progress by conducting series of tests and activities. A math teacher should also support and encourage students and build their self-confidence by providing regular coachings, managing their learning challenges, and keeping engaging lesson plans.

First grade teacher vs math teacher salary

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

	First Grade Teacher	Math Teacher
Average salary	$49,757	$51,088
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $65,000	Between $37,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Baltimore, MD
Highest paying state	New York	Maryland
Best paying company	Shady Side Academy	California State University
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between first grade teacher and math teacher education

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

	First Grade Teacher	Math Teacher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Elementary Education	Mathematics
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Harvard University

First grade teacher vs math teacher demographics

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

	First Grade Teacher	Math Teacher
Average age	42	43
Gender ratio	Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5%	Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0%
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, 8.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 3.6% White, 72.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	12%

Differences between first grade teacher and math 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.

Math teacher example responsibilities.

Lead professional development for colleagues on integrating graphing calculators into the curriculum.
Utilize cooperative learning techniques and provide individualized instruction in the field of pre-algebra and middle grade mathematics.
Provide students with high quality teaching of math subject utilizing state standards, course overviews accelerate mathematics curriculum program.
Plan and teach lessons for 6th grade mathematics and 7th grade Pre-Algebra.
Motivate students with various academic abilities to learn pre-calculus, geometry, and general earth science.
Design inquiry base unit on human anatomy and physiology.

First grade teacher vs math 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 math teacher skills

Math, 32%
Classroom Management, 12%
Student Learning, 5%
Instructional Materials, 4%
Public Schools, 4%
Algebra II, 3%

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First Grade Teacher vs Math Teacher

Updated January 8, 2025

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