Example Career: Elementary School Teachers

Career Description

Teach academic and social skills to students at the elementary school level.

What Job Titles Elementary School Teachers Might Have

• Classroom Teacher
• Elementary School Teacher
• Elementary Teacher
• Teacher

What Elementary School Teachers Do

• Instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students.
• Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems or with special academic interests.
• Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
• Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
• Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
• Read books to entire classes or small groups.
• Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
• Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
• Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
• Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
• Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
• Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
• Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
• Assign and grade class work and homework.
• Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
• Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
• Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
• Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
• Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental, and social development, such as games, arts and crafts, music, and storytelling.
• Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play.
• Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
• Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
• Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
• Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
• Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of elementary school programs.
• Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
• Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine student strengths and needs.
• Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
• Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
• Supervise, evaluate, and plan assignments for teacher assistants and volunteers.
• Organize and label materials and display students' work.
• Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
• Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
• Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
• Involve parent volunteers and older students in children's activities to facilitate involvement in focused, complex play.
• Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
• Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.

What Elementary School Teachers Should Be Good At

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Elementary School Teachers Need to Learn

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.