Caramel Apple Teacher
1,815 Followers
Thornton, Colorado, United States
About the store
I’ve spent over 10 years teaching and creating with kids from toddlers to teens—in daycares, classrooms, and beyond. One thing has always stayed true: every child deserves learning that sparks joy.
My resources are designed to be “mindfull”—thoughtful, creative, and engaging—so students can think outside the box, explore with curiosity, and actually enjoy learning. Some activities are screen-free and hands-on, while others use digital tools, but all are made to be stimulating, low-prep, and fun for teachers and caregivers alike.
Whether you’re building centers, planning small groups, or looking for purposeful play at home, I’ve got you covered. ✨ Let’s make learning playful, curious, and stress-free!
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Close Reading Unit Bundle
★ Make your fall ELA lessons unforgettable with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow! This ready-to-use bundle includes leveled texts, analysis activities, writing prompts, and more—perfect for October, Halloween, or classic literature units. ★🎃 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | Complete ELA Unit for Middle SchoolEverything you need to teach Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in one engaging bundle! Perfect for fall or Halloween ELA units, this resource is packed with differentiated texts
5th - 8th
Close Reading, English Language Arts
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.3
+2
ELA *Common Core* Skill Builders: YEARLONG BUNDLE {Bell Work/ Bell Ringers}
★ NEWLY UPDATED for the 2022-2023 school year! ★This ELA Skill Builders resources encompasses everything you need to successfully incorporate standards based literacy skills! It allows for engagement and critical thinking as students work to master a variety of common core standards throughout the year. They are perfect for bell work, bell ringers, "do nows," early finishers, or any other class time you have space to include a little refresh and review of essential ELA skills! I love using th
5th - 7th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Vocabulary
CCSS
RL.6.4
, L.6.1
, L.6.2
+2
Evidence Based Body Biography (Character Analysis Project)
Body Biographies are unique tool that allows students to combine the skills of citing textual evidence, identifying character traits, and making inferences. They also allow for so many creative that engage and challenge students to think on a deeper and more symbolic level! This resource is designed to be used with short narrative texts or individual chapters which allow for a smaller focus when choosing character traits and evidence. A common core aligned project-based activity, y
4th - 8th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Reading Strategies
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.3
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Vocab, Comprehension, Assessment
🍂 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | Differentiated Close Reading for Middle School ELABring a touch of spooky fun and classic literature into your fall ELA lessons with this engaging Legend of Sleepy Hollow resource! Perfect for October or Halloween season, this Washington Irving short story adaptation has been thoughtfully rewritten at three differentiated reading levels—ideal for upper elementary, gifted 4th–5th graders, and middle school (6th–8th grades). Whether you’re teaching a classic
5th - 8th
Close Reading, Short Stories
CCSS
RL.5.2
, RL.6.3
, RL.7.2
+3
Also included in: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Close Reading Unit Bundle
Instructional Coaching Teacher Survey Tools {Beginning of the Year}
Start the year off with your staff on the right foot! As instructional coaches know, it can be difficult to meet the needs of a diverse staff. I give this to my staff BEFORE the school year starts so that I can have time to create individual goals and profiles for each teacher. This easily allows me to have a clear cut picture of our goals before the first day of school when things can get, well... crazy :) Even if it is later in the year, its never to late to get specific feedback! This product
ELA *Common Core* Skill Builders: Weeks 1-9 Edition {Bell Work/Bell Ringers}
Interested in trying these ✦ ELA Skill Builders ✦ in your classroom? They are perfect for bell work, bell ringers, "do nows," early finishers, or any other class time you have space to include a little refresh and review of essential ELA skills! I love using these as a tool to help me address a myriad of language skills such as grammar, proofreading, spelling, and word work that can often be overlooked in the midst of our larger units. There is also always a bonus “Brain Candy” question just f
5th - 7th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Vocabulary
CCSS
RL.6.4
, L.6.1
, L.6.2
+2
Common Core Close Reading Assessments {Middle Grades}
Included in this product are 18 quizzes, complete with answer keys and annotated passages to show where each answer was found. Each quiz has ten questions geared directly to the accompanying passage that explore literary elements, figurative language, finding evidence, citing evidence, context clues, author's purpose, etc. The wording for many of the questions imitates PARCC and PARCC related assessments.
*Alternatively, you may tweak each assessment in the editable Powerpoint file for each qu
6th - 9th
Close Reading, ELA Test Prep, English Language Arts
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.3
+4
Project Based Assessment for ANY Narrative, Novel, or Short Story!
★ HUGE new updates for the 2022-23 school year! ★ Digital Directions and printable templates now included!This hands-on project based assessment is one of my favorites! Named a “ quadrama,” it is a four part diorama. The 3D format makes it great for display. Customizable to ANY narrative text, short or long, it gives students the chance to show off key skills and add a little creative flair. Students will use and apply their knowledge on character traits and development, setting, plot,
5th - 9th
English Language Arts, Literature, Reading
CCSS
RL.6.2
, RL.6.3
, RL.6.4
+1
The Gift of the Magi Close Reading Unit Bundle
A perfect tale for the winter season, this classic short story, "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, makes the perfect holiday text for my gifted 4th grade students. It has been rewritten to suit the reading level of upper elementary students and includes a wide variety of vocabulary words, intentional literary elements, and loads of figurative language. The literary elements I pair with teaching this text are plot (mainly for the surprise ending!), summarizing, and irony. We spend between 1-2 we
4th - 6th
English Language Arts, Short Stories
STAR Skills: Common Core Close Reading & Language Skills {Fall Semester}
~*~ Ready to Print Close Reading Passages & Worksheets!~*~
If you have used any of my Bell Work products in the past, here is the next level up! As a teacher of students for consecutive years, I was searching for a new way to get a quick and constant review each day and here it is with STAR Skills. This product is geared specifically towards 7th and 8th grade students.
Included in this Fall Semester Workbook:
- 18 weeks of STAR skill building sheets + editable Powerpoint slides!
- 18 weeks
6th - 9th
Close Reading, Informational Text, Literature
Instructional Strategies Poster Set {Marzano's 9 "High Yield" Strategies}
New teacher? Veteran teacher? Instructional Coach? These high yield strategies are perfect for all situations that involve instructing students and teachers :) Many current evaluations for teacher effectiveness measure an instructor's ability to select strategies based on a foundational evidence, in other words strategies that have been tested and researched, and why not? With as hard as we work, we should strive to use what has been proven effective. Marzano's nine high yield strategies have
Not Specific
For All Subjects
Digital Graffiti Wall: A Reflect & Review Activity
Graffiti Walls are a great creative assessment and critical thinking tool. They work well for individuals, groups, or whole class assignments. This product has been updated to include a 100% digital version in addition to the printable sheets. This activity is SO versatile, the question is really what can’t you apply it to? The basic idea is to give your students a focus such as a unit review, a science topic, a book chapter, a character trait, etc. You can provide them a topic, or let them
Not Specific
For All Subjects
ELA *Common Core* Skill Builders: Weeks 10-18 Edition {Bell Work/Bell Ringers}
Interested in trying these ✦ ELA Skill Builders ✦ in your classroom? They are perfect for bell work, bell ringers, "do nows," early finishers, or any other class time you have space to include a little refresh and review of essential ELA skills! I love using these as a tool to help me address a myriad of language skills such as grammar, proofreading, spelling, and word work that can often be overlooked in the midst of our larger units. There is also always a bonus “Brain Candy” question just f
5th - 7th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Vocabulary
CCSS
RL.6.4
, L.6.1
, L.6.2
+2
Setting The Mood: Mini Lesson {Pairs With The Legend of Sleepy Hollow}
This common core aligned mini lesson focuses on identifying mood in text excerpts of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” It addressed the following learning targets and can be used by a variety of grade levels: ★ I can interpret words and phrases in a text to determine a story’s mood. ★ I can explain how word choices shape the mood of a story. I pair this as a short lesson when teaching "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." While it can be used without reading the story, it is meant to be a sup
5th - 8th
Close Reading, Short Stories
CCSS
RL.5.4
, RL.6.4
, RL.7.4
+1
Also included in: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Close Reading Unit Bundle
Textual Evidence and Inferences in a Non-Fiction Text: Homeless
This is an authentic literacy exercise using a non-fiction essay "Homeless" by Anna Quindlen. It was first published in Newsweek, so I feel it meets the new text complexity requirements! Students are asked to answer varying levels of comprehension questions based on Bloom's taxonomy. Ultimately, students will complete a writing prompt deciding whether they live in a "house" or a "home". The product addresses skills including: close reading, annotating, vocabulary development, short answer format
6th - 12th
Balanced Literacy, English Language Arts, Reading
CCSS
RI.6.1
ELA *Common Core* Skill Builders: Weeks 19-27 Edition {Bell Work/Bell Ringers}
Interested in trying these ✦ ELA Skill Builders ✦ in your classroom? They are perfect for bell work, bell ringers, "do nows," early finishers, or any other class time you have space to include a little refresh and review of essential ELA skills! I love using these as a tool to help me address a myriad of language skills such as grammar, proofreading, spelling, and word work that can often be overlooked in the midst of our larger units. There is also always a bonus “Brain Candy” question just f
5th - 7th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Vocabulary
CCSS
RL.6.4
, L.6.1
, L.6.2
+2
Common Core Close Reading Activities and Assessments Bundle {Middle Grades}
This product BUNDLES two individual products:
STAR Skills Common Core Close Reading and Language Skills
STAR Skills Common Core Close Reading Assessments
You can check out the links to these individual products to see a more in-depth look of what is included in this bundle.
It also pairs with this FREE product which MUST be downloaded in order to complete the worksheets and quizzes:
STAR Skills Close Reading Companion Passages
About the STAR Skills Worksheets:
If you have used any of my Bel
6th - 9th
Close Reading, ELA Test Prep, English Language Arts
Sleepy Hollow Writing Task: Perspective Detective Investigative Report
This common core aligned writing lesson focuses on opinion/argumentative writing that relies explicitly on text excerpts from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” This activity is designed to be used with my abridged versions of the story, but can still be used with any version! It addressed the following skills and includes differentiated pieces for grades 4-8: ★ Close reading ★ Making inferences ★ Determining supportive and relevant text evidence ★ Producing a clear argument to support a claim/o
5th - 8th
Creative Writing, Writing-Essays
CCSS
W.5.1
, W.5.1a
, W.5.1b
+18
Also included in: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Close Reading Unit Bundle
Comic Strips With a "Plot Twist": Text Evidence Practice for ANY Narrative
This rigorous, standards based activity is perfect for digging into the elements of plot in a creative way! Use this unique version of a "comic strip" to give students a unique way to show off their understanding of "Key Ideas and Details" in a short narrative or novel chapter. This activity can be used for student review or assessment on identifying parts of plot, finding supporting textual evidence that is relevant, and writing an overall theme. My students loved this activity, not on
4th - 8th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Short Stories
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.3
Greek Mythology Bio Poem Activity - Google Slides Version Included!
Similar to a bio poem (a poem that follows a pattern to describe someone), this is a bit of twist for a mythology version. This creative poetry project can be used at any stage of a mythology unit or set of lessons. It works great as an introductory activity or to show off a culmination of learning at the end. This also makes a great supplemental activity for the novel The Lightning Thief. I love these poems because they always turn out SO unique, and they make a great keepsake or portfol
4th - 9th
English Language Arts, Poetry, Writing
CCSS
CCRA.W.2
, CCRA.W.4
, CCRA.W.5
+2
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About the store
Experience
I’ve spent over 10 years teaching and creating with kids from toddlers to teens—in daycares, classrooms, and beyond. One thing has always stayed true: every child deserves learning that sparks joy.
My resources are designed to be “mindfull”—thoughtful, creative, and engaging—so students can think outside the box, explore with curiosity, and actually enjoy learning. Some activities are screen-free and hands-on, while others use digital tools, but all are made to be stimulating, low-prep, and fun for teachers and caregivers alike.
Whether you’re building centers, planning small groups, or looking for purposeful play at home, I’ve got you covered. ✨ Let’s make learning playful, curious, and stress-free!
Teaching style
✨ Teaching Style: Child-Led, Playful, and Creativity-First ✨
I believe every child’s mind is brimming with potential, and every activity can open a new door to wonder. My style is rooted in hands-on, exploratory learning—where little learners aren’t just watching, they’re touching, moving, building, and imagining. I design experiences that ignite curiosity and spark creativity, turning everyday materials into opportunities for discovery. With the child at the center, learning becomes more than a lesson—it’s an adventure filled with questions, connections, and joyful “aha!” moments.
My own education history
Bachelor's in English Education
Master's in Instruction and Curriculum Development
Gifted and Talented Certification
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