First grade teacher vs teacher

The differences between first grade teachers and 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 $47,989 average annual salary of a teacher.

The top three skills for a first grade teacher include classroom management, math and social studies. The most important skills for a teacher are ESL, handle scheduling, and kids.

First grade teacher vs teacher overview

	First Grade Teacher	Teacher
Yearly salary	$49,757	$47,989
Hourly rate	$23.92	$23.07
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	70,517	71,918
Job satisfaction	-	4.14
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
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 teacher do?

Being a teacher is one of the most passionate professions, among others. Teachers educate, motivate, and guide every generation of learners to prepare them for the real world. Every teacher is unique and has their own teaching styles and methods depending on the subject they teach and the age of their students. Oftentimes they also function as a parent, counselor, coach, friend, and even a lawmaker. There is essentially no limit to the roles a teacher portrays.

First grade teacher vs teacher salary

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

	First Grade Teacher	Teacher
Average salary	$49,757	$47,989
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $65,000	Between $32,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Baltimore, MD
Highest paying state	New York	Maryland
Best paying company	Shady Side Academy	King Low Heywood Thomas
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between first grade teacher and teacher education

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

	First Grade Teacher	Teacher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Elementary Education	Elementary Education
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

First grade teacher vs teacher demographics

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

	First Grade Teacher	Teacher
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5%	Male, 25.7% Female, 74.3%
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, 10.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 3.7% White, 68.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between first grade teacher and 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.

Teacher example responsibilities.

Work closely with co-teacher to manage and co-teach curriculum to a large group.
Target at risk and high achieving students using levele readers and DRA strategies.
Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
Develop social studies and geography curriculum.
Provide kindergarten readiness in approaching phonemic awareness, phonics, and introductory math skills.
Attend and participate in ESL professional development activities, conferences/workshops, curriculum/program planning, & special events and activities.

First grade teacher vs 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 teacher skills

ESL, 17%
Handle Scheduling, 15%
Kids, 12%
Classroom Management, 7%
CPR, 5%
Curriculum Development, 4%

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First Grade Teacher
First Grade Teacher vs Teacher

Updated January 8, 2025

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