Creative Roots Studio
1 Follower
Plantsville, Connecticut, United States
About the store
I began my teaching career in 2009, immediately after graduating with my Bachelor’s degree in English Writing. I spent the first five years of my career teaching 6th grade ELA while simultaneously earning my Master’s degree. I earned my MA in English Writing in 2014 and have been teaching high school ever since.
I currently teach 10th grade English, Creative Writing, and a transitional English class for struggling students.
Through my experience teaching a wide range of learners and skill levels, I have developed strategies to make complex reading and writing skills more accessible and engaging for all students. My classroom experience directly informs the resources I create, ensuring they are practical, effective, and easy to implement.
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Characterization Bundle | Character Traits, Text Evidence, Passages & Assessment
Save time and build strong characterization skills with this engaging bundle! This Characterization Activities Bundle includes 5 ready-to-use resources designed to help students analyze characters, identify traits, and support their thinking with text evidence. Perfect for middle and high school ELA, these activities use short, engaging passages to keep students focused while practicing essential reading skills. What’s Included: 5 Characterization Resources bundled together10+ Short Passages wit
7th - 10th
Close Reading, Reading, Reading Strategies
CCSS, TEKS, VA SOL
RL.7.1
, RL.7.2
, RL.7.3
+12
Plot Structure & Story Elements Bundle | Anchor Charts, Sequencing, & CER
Help students master plot elements and plot structure with this comprehensive bundle of anchor charts, sequencing activities, reading passages, and CER writing organizers. This resource builds students’ understanding of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution through visual support, guided practice, and evidence-based writing. This bundle is designed to move students from introduction to application, helping them not only identify plot structure but also analyze and exp
6th - 10th
Close Reading, Reading, Writing
CCSS
RL.6.3
, RL.7.3
, RL.8.3
+5
Theme vs Topic Bundle | Reading Passages, Worksheets, Activities & CER Writing
Looking for a complete theme vs topic unit that takes students from introduction to mastery? This all-in-one bundle provides everything you need to help middle and high school ELA students understand, analyze, and write about theme with confidence. Students will move from identifying theme and topic, to practicing with reading passages, and finally to writing about theme using CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning). What’s Included: Topic vs Theme Skill Practice Worksheets & activities for identifying
7th - 10th
Close Reading, Reading, Writing
Characterization Passages with Evidence-Based Questions | No Prep | Answer Key
Help your students master characterization and text-based evidence with this ready-to-use resource! Perfect for middle school and high school lessons, this pack includes: 5 original passages featuring relatable, engaging scenarios5 characterization questions per passage (25 total)Questions that guide students to analyze what characters say, think, do, and how they changeOpportunities to practice citing textual evidence to support answersAnswer key included for easy gradingStudents will practic
7th - 9th
Close Reading, Reading, Reading Strategies
CCSS, TEKS, VA SOL
RL.7.1
, RL.7.3
, RL.8.1
+7
Back to School | 9th Grade ELA | Beginning of the Year Activity | Identity
Start the school year with a high school ELA back to school writing activity focused on identity, self-reflection, and SEL (social-emotional learning). The Labels We Wear is a meaningful personal narrative writing project for freshmen and upper high school students that helps students explore identity, self-perception, and the impact of labels in and out of the classroom. This back to school identity writing activity for high school ELA is perfect for the first week of school as students build
7th - 10th
Creative Writing, Social Emotional Learning, Writing
10th Grade | Back To School | Sophomore Reflection Activity | Growth Mindset
Looking for a meaningful sophomore reflection activity for the beginning of the school year? This engaging back-to-school ELA writing lesson helps 10th grade students reflect on how they have grown since freshman year, recognize the wisdom they have gained, and identify areas where they still have room to learn and grow. Perfect for the first week of school, this growth mindset and self-reflection activity encourages students to think deeply about their personal experiences while building writin
10th
Creative Writing, Writing
Characterization Worksheets & Activities | Traits, Motivation, & Analysis
Help your students master characterization with this engaging, no-prep resource! This comprehensive set of characterization worksheets and activities teaches students how to analyze static vs. dynamic characters, understand character traits and motivation, and complete meaningful character analysis using text evidence. Perfect for middle school ELA or high school English Language Arts, this resource supports reading comprehension and literary analysis in a clear, scaffolded way. 📚 What
7th - 10th
Literature, Reading, Writing
CCSS, TEKS, VA SOL
RL.7.1
, RL.7.2
, RL.7.3
+26
CER Plot Elements Graphic Organizer | Story Elements Guided Writing Practice
Help students strengthen literary analysis and writing skills with these guided CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) graphic organizers focused on plot elements and plot structure. Students will practice analyzing stories while writing organized responses supported with evidence and reasoning. This resource includes scaffolded CER activities that guide students through each part of the writing process. Each organizer is tailored to a specific plot-related prompt, helping students build confidence wi
7th - 10th
Reading, Writing
CCSS
W.7.1
, W.8.1
, W.9-10.1
Plot Elements & Plot Structure Activities | Reading Passages, Sequencing, TDQs
Practice plot elements and plot structure with engaging sequencing activities, reading passages, text-dependent questions, and story analysis practice. Students will identify exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution while strengthening reading comprehension and sequencing skills. This resource gives students multiple opportunities to practice identifying and analyzing plot structure through short scenarios, sequencing tasks, and extended reading passages. Activities grad
6th - 10th
Close Reading, Reading, Reading Strategies
CCSS
RL.6.3
, RL.7.3
, RL.8.3
+1
Theme CER Writing Organizer & Rubric | Middle & High School ELA
Looking for a simple way to help students write about theme using CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning)? This resource includes a ready-to-use graphic organizer and rubric that help students develop and evaluate strong theme-based writing for any text. Perfect for teaching students how to move from reading analysis to written literary response, this resource supports clear, structured paragraph writing using CER. What’s Included: ✔️ Theme CER Graphic OrganizerStudents identify a themeDevelop a claimS
7th - 10th
Reading Strategies, Short Stories, Writing
CCSS, TEKS, VA SOL
RL.7.1
, RL.7.2
, RL.8.2
+17
Theme vs Topic Reading Passages | Identify Theme & Topic | Middle & High School
Looking for theme vs. topic reading passages for student practice? This resource helps middle and high school ELA students identify theme and topic using engaging short and extended reading passages that build reading comprehension and literary analysis skills. This no-prep resource is perfect for helping students move beyond simple identification and develop a deeper understanding of theme in context. What’s Included: ✔️ 6 Short Reading PassagesStudents identify both the topic and theme✔️ 2 Ext
7th - 10th
Reading, Reading Strategies, Short Stories
CCSS, TEKS, VA SOL
RL.7.2
, RL.8.2
, RL.9-10.2
+6
Theme vs Topic Worksheets & Activities | Exit Tickets | Middle & High School ELA
Looking for engaging theme vs topic worksheets and activities? This resource helps middle and high school ELA students clearly understand the difference between theme and topic through targeted practice and exit tickets. This no-prep resource is perfect for reinforcing key literary analysis skills and helping students confidently identify, analyze, and improve theme statements. What’s Included: ✔️ 2 Topic vs. Theme Reference Sheets (Color + Black & White)✔️ Identifying Activity – Students determ
7th - 10th
Close Reading, Literature, Reading
CCSS, TEKS, VA SOL
RL.7.2
, RL.8.2
, RL.9-10.2
+5
Characterization Assessment Passages | Reading Comprehension | Text Evidence
Help your students analyze characters and cite textual evidence with this ready-to-use reading comprehension assessment! This resource includes 2 engaging fiction passages with test-style questions that support close reading and deeper analysis. Perfect for middle school & high school ELA, this print and go resource is ideal for test prep, quizzes, independent practice, or sub plans. What’s Included:2 original fiction passages (longer, assessment-style)Multiple choice questions focused on charac
7th - 10th
Close Reading, Reading, Reading Strategies
CCSS, TEKS, VA SOL
RL.7.1
, RL.7.3
, RL.8.1
+9
Direct & Indirect Characterization Activities | Graphic Organizers | STEAL
Are your students struggling with character analysis or identifying character traits in literature? These Direct & Indirect Characterization Activities using the STEAL method (Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, Looks) make it easy and engaging for middle and high school students to identify character traits, support their answers with evidence, and think critically about literature. 📚 What’s Included: 2 printable characterization reference sheets – color & black & white5 unique STEA
8th - 10th
Literature, Reading, Writing
CCSS, TEKS, VA SOL
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.3
, CCRA.R.4
+12
Plot Diagram Graphic Organizer | Story Elements Anchor Chart Templates
Help students master plot elements and plot structure with these story mountain graphic organizers, plot diagrams, and anchor charts. Students will practice identifying exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution using differentiated visual organizers. Perfect for introducing or reviewing:expositionrising actionclimaxfalling actionresolutionWhat’s Included:✔ Full-color plot elements anchor chart with definitions ✔ Story mountain graphic organizer with labels and support box
6th - 10th
Reading, Reading Strategies
CCSS
RL.6.3
, RL.7.3
, RL.8.3
+1
Theme in Songs Graphic Organizer | Identify Theme Using Lyrics | Secondary ELA
Help students connect literature to music with this engaging theme in songs graphic organizer! Students identify the theme of a song and support their thinking by citing lyrics as evidence. This no-prep activity is perfect for introducing or reinforcing theme analysis in a fun and relatable way. What’s Included: ✔️ Theme in Songs Graphic OrganizerIdentify the theme of a songCite lyrics as textual evidenceExplain how lyrics support the themeSkills Covered: Identifying theme in music and textCitin
7th - 10th
Other (ELA), Writing
20 Characterization Bell Ringers | ELA Do Now | Character Traits & Text Evidence
Looking for meaningful, low-prep ELA bell ringers that actually build skills?These 20 characterization bell ringers help students practice identifying character traits, analyzing text evidence, and understanding character actions and motivations—all in just a few minutes a day! Perfect for middle school ELA or high school ELA, these quick daily warm-ups are designed to reinforce essential reading comprehension skills without overwhelming students. 📚 What’s Included: 20 daily characterization pr
6th - 10th
Reading, Reading Strategies
Showing 1-17 of 17 results
About the store
Experience
I began my teaching career in 2009, immediately after graduating with my Bachelor’s degree in English Writing. I spent the first five years of my career teaching 6th grade ELA while simultaneously earning my Master’s degree. I earned my MA in English Writing in 2014 and have been teaching high school ever since.
I currently teach 10th grade English, Creative Writing, and a transitional English class for struggling students.
Through my experience teaching a wide range of learners and skill levels, I have developed strategies to make complex reading and writing skills more accessible and engaging for all students. My classroom experience directly informs the resources I create, ensuring they are practical, effective, and easy to implement.
Teaching style
My teaching style focuses on helping students build strong reading and writing skills in a way that feels clear and manageable. I try to break things down so students aren’t overwhelmed and can actually build confidence as they learn.
I put a big emphasis on close reading, thinking deeply about texts, and supporting ideas with evidence. I want students to not just get the “right answer,” but to understand why it’s right and be able to explain their thinking.
Since I also teach creative writing, I really value giving students space to be creative and find their voice, while still helping them grow as readers and writers. My goal is to create a classroom where students feel supported, challenged, and capable of success.
My own education history
-Bachelor of Science, English Writing - Western CT State University
-Master of Arts, English Writing - Western CT State University
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