An elementary school teacher helps children ages roughly 5 to 11 learn reading, math, science, and social studies, and also how to get along in a group. The job is part planner, part performer, part coach, and part detective. You plan lessons, teach them, watch who is getting it and who is not, and adjust the next day. In the US, public school teaching legally requires a bachelor's degree, completion of an approved educator preparation program, passing state exams, and a state teaching license. You can learn a lot for free before and during your degree: classroom management, the science of rea
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Stage 1 of 4 · about 14 weeks
Learn how children learn and how a classroom runs. Study child development (Piaget, Vygotsky's zone of proximal development), the basics of the science of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension), and early math (number sense, place value, fractions). Volunteer or tutor weekly to practice explaining ideas simply. Check yourself: can you teach a 7-year-old to add 38 + 47 in two different ways?
Child development and how children learn
Every choice a teacher makes, from how long a lesson runs to how hard a task is, depends on what children at that age can handle. If you get this right, your lessons fit the kids in front of you.
Science of reading basics
Reading is the most important thing an elementary teacher teaches, since almost all later learning depends on it. Research shows that explicit, step-by-step teaching of sounds and words works best for most children, so knowing the parts lets you spot exactly where a child is stuck.
Early math: number sense, place value, fractions
Many adults fear math, and children pick that up. If you understand why the methods work, not just the steps, you can explain them clearly in more than one way, which is what real teaching needs.
Explaining simply and how a classroom runs
A great idea fails if a child cannot follow it, and a great lesson fails if the room is chaotic. Early practice with real children shows you quickly what works.
Then 3 more stages (about 110 weeks in all) with lessons, drills, projects, 10 interview questions with strong answers and free resources.