About Me

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I graduated from Loyola University New Orleans (Geaux Wolfpack!) with a B.A. in Psychology. I recently completed two years as an AmeriCorps member during which I found a home at the Washington Middle School for Girls. Prior to WMSG, I worked as an adult education instructor for the Corrections Organized for Re-entry program (CORe). My mission at WMSG is to empower the students and stregnthen their voice. I hope to inspire a love of learning and a love of self.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Weekend Homework

Students,

I hope that you enjoy your long, long weekend.
I just wanted to remind you of your homework responsibilities.
  1. WORD WISDOM TEST MONDAY! 
    • In order to prepare for you test, please ensure that Unit 2, Part 1 is complete (including the write it section)
    • Also,  I suggest  that you make flashcards to assist you in the studying process. 
  2. GRAMMAR TEXT DUE MONDAY!!! 
    • Please finish the take home test in the back of your Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics book. If you have forgotten your book here at the school, remember that this Saturday is FAMILY FUN DAY, and you will have access to  your locker, if you attend. 
  3. PERSONAL NARRATIVES
    • All students MUST email their 2nd drafts to Shakenya.Humphries@gmail.com
    • Remember to include captivating sensory details
SATURDAY IS FAMILY FUN DAY : 
I WILL BE THERE, AND I HOPE TO YOU SEE YOU TOO! 

Monday, September 26, 2011

Write a Letter

SEVENTH GRADERS:

Congratulations on finishing your first novel, House on Mango Street!!! 
Now that you have finished, I am sure that you have many unanswered questions or comments for Esperanza. Tomorrow, we will write a letter to the main character. 

Parents:
As we read the novel, students wrote interesting comments, notable quotes, and unanswered questions on sticky notes. Now, they will revisit those notes in order to write a letter to the main character, Esperanza. Esperanza’s final realization as a growing adolescent is that she has a penchant for writing. She recognizes that her writing ability will give her the means to escape from Mango Street. Because Esperanza is a writer, she is a keen observer, and we see her ability to view and understand her neighborhood mature. 




Sunday, September 25, 2011

Star Assessment


Test Taking Tips
  1. Keep a positive attitude throughout the whole test and try to stay relaxed.
    •  If you start to feel nervous take a few deep breaths to relax.
  2. Don't rush but pace yourself. 
  3. Read the entire question and look for keywords.
  4. Always read the whole question carefully.
    • Don't make assumptions about what the question might be.
  5. Don't worry if others finish before you. Focus on the test in front of you.
CLICK HERE for Star Reading Assessment

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Extra Credit - Extra Credit

Did you attend the Worldwide Day of Play or Book Festival this weekend?

If so, write a story about your experience. Share it with the class on Monday for BONUS POINTS!  



http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/

Friday, September 16, 2011

EXTRA CREDIT - MUSEUM VISIT: RACE EXHIBIT

OPTION ONE: 10 points EXTRA CREDIT!

Explore this website as a family: http://www.understandingrace.org/kids.html

Write a short 1-2 page paper discussing what you and your family learned.



OPTION TWO: 20 points EXTRA CREDIT!
Visit the Natural History Museum: http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/race/

  1. Bring back some material to show that you visited the museum.
  2. Write a short, one page paper on what you have learned.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Parts of Speech QUIZ TOMORROW! (surprise)

Three little words you often see
Are ARTICLES: a, an, and the.

A NOUN's the name of anything,
As: school or garden, toy, or swing.

ADJECTIVES tell the kind of noun,
As: great, small, pretty, white, or brown.

VERBS tell of something being done:
To read, write, count, sing, jump, or run.

How things are done the ADVERBS tell,
As: slowly, quickly, badly, well.

CONJUNCTIONS join the words together,
As: men and women, wind or weather.

The PREPOSITION stands before
A noun as: in or through a door.

The INTERJECTION shows surprise
As: Oh, how pretty! Ah! how wise!

PRONOUNS

Pronouns are words that substitute for nouns.
Every pronoun must have a clear antecendent (the word for which the pronoun stands).
KINDS OF PRONOUNS
                         
             
             

SINGULAR

PLURAL

subjective
objective
possessive
subjective
objective
possessive
1st person
I
me
my, mine
we
us
our, ours
2nd person
you
you
your, yours
you
you
your, yours
3rd person
he
she
it
him
her
it
his
her,  hers
its
they

them
their, theirs
                 
            

Word Wisdom: Vocabulary Quiz Tomorrow!!

Dear Families,

Tomorrow is our third Word Wisdom, vocabulary quiz. Currently, we are still studying Life Cycle terms. Please take some time to practice using and relating these terms in your daily life.

Quiz Words

Organic
Pesticides
Agrarian
Fertility
Compost
Arbor
Foliage
Flora
Herbaceous
Verdant

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Prepositions

The most common prepositions are: in, to, of, on, after, at, by, for, from, up and with. A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a direct object (noun or pronoun).
 EX: The man (in the car) seemed nice.

1. A prepositional phrase is a group of words beginning with a preposition and completed by a noun or a pronoun.

2. A prepositional phrase limits, describes, or in other ways affects some word in the
sentence containing it.

She wore a hat with a red feather. We came for your advice.

3. The noun or pronoun that completes the prepositional phrase is called the object of the preposition. Here is a letter from John

 4. A preposition may have a compound object. Were you waiting for 

 5. Phrases may be compound:
Behave at home and in public Bill and me? (noun) I’ll wait for you. (pronoun) 
 6. Here is a list of common prepositions:
about
above
across
after
against
around
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
besides
between
beyond
by
down
during
except
for
from
in
inside
into
like
near
of
off
on
out
outside
over
since
through
throughout
till
to
toward
under
until
up
upon
with
without
according to
because of
by way of
in addition to
in front of
in place of
in regard to
in spite of
instead of
on account of
out of

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Analagies

What is an analogy?
A similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based

Bear is to Hibernation


As Bird is to ______________

Birds flying above lake great National Geographic landscape


  1. What is the first thing you do when you see an analogy?
    • Answer: FIGURE OUT THE RELATIONSHIP
  •  
  • What is the relationship between BEAR and HIBERNATION?
    • Answer: A bear hibernates in the winter.
  • What does a bird do in the winter?
    • Answer: Migrate!
Bear: Hibernation as Bird: Migration

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

HOME CONNECTION: House on Mango Street- Housing Issues in America


Your student is currently reading The House on Mango Street. We will discuss many of the following housing issues in class.  Feel free to discuss them at home with your student, as well. 

The House on Mango Street (pg.3)-

Immediately we are introduced to the Esperanza’s pride, even as a child, in
home ownership, and the disadvantages of life as a home renter. As she
retells her housing history, attention should be placed on the subpar living
conditions the family endured. Discuss events that may have lead up to a
family accepting a home in unlivable condition, and the possible reasons
they remained there. What are the rights of tenants and landlords? How
do we protect the rights of both parties?

The family dream home, the same dream home of Americans from many
different backgrounds, in unattainable. Discuss the differences between
the dream home and the home the family purchased. The pride in
ownership is marred by not attaining the dream house that was a family
goal for years. Esperanza associates much of her worth with the quality of
her home. “You live there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing.’
(pg 5)


Cathy Queen of Cats (pg 12)-
The last sentence (“’In the meantime they’ll just have to move a little
farther north from Mango Street, a little farther away every time people
like us keep moving in.”) leads naturally into a discussion of White Flight
and the stereotypes / generalizations associated with it.
Ask students what examples of gentrification they have witnessed and the
feelings associated with it, from BOTH perspectives.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Welcome Back from Labor Day! Homework

                        WORD WISDOM

This week we will continue to learn new and exciting vocabulary words that relate to the life cycle. Last week we focused on learning new terms by using context clues. This week we will focus on uncovering the mystery of new words by using Latin and Greek roots.  Today we learned that many languages are related to one another, and therefore share letter cluster similarities. 


                      GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS


With a few simple tricks, the seventh grade class will be able to construct grammatically sound sentences in no time! Last week we learned that every sentence contains a subject and a predicate. The subject is the noun or pronoun that does the action in the sentence. The predicate is the action because it is the verb.  We also learned that the subject is sometimes not written in imperative  sentences. 
Examples: 
Dogs bark. 
Dogs = subject/ noun
bark= predicate/ verb


She loves to read and write. 
Subject: She (the pronoun)
Predicate: loves (the verb) 


Now that the students have mastered subjects and predicates, they are working on direct objects. Direct objects receive the action of the verb. In order to find a direct object, a person should locate the subject and predicate (verb) in the sentence, then ask "what" or "whom"? 


For example: 


The teacher gave books to each student. 


Subject: Teacher ( noun) 
Predicate: gave (verb) 
Then you ask - The teacher gave "what"? 
Answer: books 
Books is the direct object 


                                 STRATEGIES FOR WRITERS 
BONUS- BONUS - BONUS - BONUS 
Students are currently learning about Personal Narratives. A personal narrative is a short story that is written to describe one specific event. The purpose could be to entertain, inform, educate, or reflect. 
Students encounter narratives everyday in music. For extra credit, students may bring in a song that meets the criterion of a personal narrative. In order to receive credit, student must write a 1-3 paragraph explanation of the story.  Students must also be able to describe the storytelling elements within the song. 


Bon Chance! 


Reading: Students have just begun to read House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros.