Hi! My name is Amanda Campbell. This is my fourth year at Crossroads Elementary and I love it here. I taught at North End Elementary for five years. I live in Saint Paul with my husband, four kids and a cat. When I am not teaching, I enjoy reading books, scrapbooking, going to the gym and most of all spending time with my family. I look forward to all the wonderful things we will learn this year. We are going to have so much fun!
Communication Folders come home every Thursday.
Read every night for at least 30 minutes!
We will go to the I- Zone every Wednesday.
We will go to the library every Wednesday.
Please check and sign your child's AVID planners every day.
Watch for math and spelling homework each week.
Accelerated Reader tests are a great tool for testing comprehension. Visit the link found on the Crossroads home page.
Daily Schedule
8:15- 8:40 Breakfast to Go in the classroom and Responsive Classroom Morning Meeting
8:40- 9:30 Character Education on Monday, Everyday Math Tuesday through Friday
9:30- 10:20 Specialist (1 week rotations) Physical Education, Science, Art, Music
10:20- 11:50 Reader's Workshop
11:50- 12:40 Recess and lunch
12:40- 2:00 Monday- Math, Tuesday- Math and Science, Wednesday- Library and Literature, Thursday and Friday- Math and Science
2:00- 2:40- M, T, Th- Writer's Workshop, Wednesday- I-Zone, Friday- Writer's Workshop and Spelling Test
2:40- 3:00 AVID planner time and closing meeting, Dismissal
Students engaged in discussions and reading during thier Book Clubs.
These pictures were taken while we were studying energy and electricity, including a few visits from the Bakken Museum!
We celebrated all of our hard work this year by heading to Creamy Cone for some sweet treats.
We planted a garden! We grew lettuce and radishes. There was a lot of weeding involved but we were so happy with the results. Many students tasted a radish for the first time.
Xtra Math Math fact practice
Accelerated Reader A.R. tests for reading comprehension
Multiplication.com Math games
MCA practice test Click on item sampler for practice math and reading MCA tests
I would like to encourage all of my students to attend winter intersession. The focus will be on MCA test preperation. The test will take place online this year. Because this is a new format for students, we are devoting our Thursday computer lab time to becoming familiar with the test and with the computer. There are many wonderful games and activities online that will help students practice both math and reading. The more we practice our skills, the better we will perform on the tests. You can have your child practice at home as well. And even more importantly than that, the more we practice our skills, the smarter we will be!!! MCA practice test
We have been using the Xtra math website to help with memorization of math facts. You can use this tool at home as well! Go to www.xtramath.org. Enter my email address: amanda.campbell@spps.org, enter student name (first name only) and their 4 digit password. It takes less than 10 minutes. I encourage students to log on daily. Regular use of this website will increase both automaticity and confidence!
Xtra Math
In addition to their small reading groups, students formed book clubs. They chose the books and with just a little guidance from me, have created questions and assignments for their books. They love the feeling of taking charge of their reading. It is great to see them so engaged and excited about reading!
We are currently studying and writing our own poetry. Our favorite poets (so far) are Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky andLangston Hughes. We have written haiku poems and couplets. We memorized and recited "The Blues" and "My People" by Langston Hughes. Students also recited poetry they wrote themselves in front of the class.
We completed our visit to The Planetarium. We learned about to Dog Star, eclipses and the Orion constellation. We went to Junior Achievement BizTown on December 13. We learned about jobs, being a part of a community, being a good citizen and managing finances. On January 28, we went to the Science Museum of Minnesota to learn about cryogenics, which is the study of low temperatures. We also got to view the ice sculptures as part of the St. Paul Winter Carnival Celebration. In late spring we will be going to the MInnesota State Capitol, Minnesota History Center and Fort Snelling.
Planetarium
Junior Achievement
Science Museum of Minnesota
Minnesota History Center
Historic Fort Snelling
Minnesota State Capitol
We will be going to the Audobon when we return from spring intersession! This overnight field trip is a wonderful opportunity to build community and spend time exploring nature. Our trip is scheduled for May 29- 31. A parent information meeting will take place this coming spring. Audobon
We will fill out our AVID planners at the end of each school day. This is a great way for students to keep track of homework due and important events coming up. It is also a great way for your child to share information about their day at school. Check it each night, sign it and ask your child about their day! AVID
We will be going to the library every Wednesday. Students will be allowed to check out two books each. One of the books must be at their A.R. level. A.R. tests can and should be taken at home and school. Several students still haven't returned books that were borrowed last year. Please return any library books you may have at home promptly!
I will send home 2 order forms at the beginning of each month. They can be returned to school or you can place orders online. Either way, you have the opportunity to build your library at home and our library here at school. Our online code for the year is HB3LC.
Scholastic