What Is Primary School Teaching?
The term "primary school" is used to describe the first stage of compulsory education for children. In the United States, this period is usually known as "elementary school," though some institutions do style themselves as "primary schools." The teaching in primary schools usually concentrates on the children's acquisition of basic skills.
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Age Range
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The age at which U.S. children start primary or elementary school varies from state to state. Often, this compulsory phase of education follows pre-school learning, where the emphasis is on play as a vehicle for children to gain social skills. Most U.S. children start elementary school at age 5 and complete it at age 11, when the move is made to secondary school, commonly known as middle school or junior high, and then finally to high school.
Teaching Aims
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Primary school teaching aims to equip children with well-developed skills in reading, writing and arithmetic. In English, the focus is on learning to decipher words in reading, to comprehend meaning, and to spell a range of common words with accuracy when composing stories and reports. In math, children are taught to recall simple number facts, such as multiplication tables, to use a range of measures, and to employ the four operations of numbers: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
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Wider Curriculum
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The teaching at most primary schools does also offer a wider curriculum, rather than just endless drills in the basics. Children can expect to be take part in a variety of sporting and artistic activities and to study the simpler aspects of complex subjects such as civics, crafts, science, geography and history.
Education Characteristics
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Most elementary schools group their pupils according to age. The youngest are taught in kindergarten, which provides a transition from pre-school education, so there is still a strong emphasis on learning through play. A year later, children progress to first grade, which is often seen as the true first year of primary school. As children grow older, their schooling becomes more structured and formal in character, with less play and more written activities, including tests and homework.
Teaching Style
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Primary school teaching favors a personalized approach to the pupil. Typically, most lessons are taught by one familiar teacher who leads the class for the whole school year. This requires elementary school teachers to have a sound grasp of the basics across a range of subjects, rather than an expertise in one particular discipline. In some subjects though, such as music or physical education, pupils may work with an specialist teacher instead.
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