Reading specialist vs first grade teacher

The differences between reading specialists and first grade teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a reading specialist has an average salary of $57,978, which is higher than the $49,757 average annual salary of a first grade teacher.

The top three skills for a reading specialist include language arts, student learning and assessment data. The most important skills for a first grade teacher are classroom management, math, and social studies.

Reading specialist vs first grade teacher overview

	Reading Specialist	First Grade Teacher
Yearly salary	$57,978	$49,757
Hourly rate	$27.87	$23.92
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	2,386	70,517
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	43	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does a reading specialist do?

Reach truck operators are responsible for safely using reach trucks (forklifts). They operate their reach truck to load, move, and unload new warehouse or sizeable retail store materials. Operators will need various mechanical and communication skills, as well as good visual acuity. Obtaining the proper licensure and understanding the safety protocols involved with heavy machinery is important to the job.

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.

Reading specialist vs first grade teacher salary

Reading specialists and first grade teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Reading Specialist	First Grade Teacher
Average salary	$57,978	$49,757
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $76,000	Between $37,000 And $65,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	New York
Best paying company	Central State University	Shady Side Academy
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between reading specialist and first grade teacher education

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

	Reading Specialist	First Grade Teacher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Elementary Education	Elementary Education
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of Pennsylvania

Reading specialist vs first grade teacher demographics

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

	Reading Specialist	First Grade Teacher
Average age	43	42
Gender ratio	Male, 13.3% Female, 86.7%	Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 3.6% White, 70.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	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%
LGBT Percentage	8%	9%

Differences between reading specialist and first grade teacher duties and responsibilities

Reading specialist example responsibilities.

Assist children on the autism spectrum academically and socially to achieve integration into a mainstream educational environment.
Coordinate and direct the annual drama production.
Provide direct services to the RTI students through the best guide reading practices.
Coordinate and execute all festive cultural events for families of students in grades k-12.
Organize school-wide educational events and activities specific to the needs of children with autism.
Review basics of writing essays, discussion of reading selection, and development of writing skills.

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.

Reading specialist vs first grade teacher skills

Common reading specialist skills

Language Arts, 6%
Student Learning, 5%
Assessment Data, 5%
K-8, 4%
Staff Development, 4%
Instructional Strategies, 4%

Common first grade teacher skills

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

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Reading Specialist vs First Grade Teacher

Updated January 8, 2025

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