Meet Melanie LiCausi
Melanie is the original creator of Leveled Assessments for Math and ELA. Leveled Assessments take Marzano’s research to a whole new LEVEL, by adding clear and objective tasks to proficiency scales. Melanie’s experience with differentiation comes from twelve years in the classroom teaching first grade, second grade, middle school math, and several years of Gifted Resource in a multi-age classroom for grades 3-5. She has mastered the art of aligning content at multiple grade levels to give students a smooth and defined path for progress.
As Proficiency Scales become the NEW way to teach, more and more schools are looking for resources from experienced teachers. Melanie has written, taught and presented proficiency scales at multiple conferences to walk teachers through the process of creating, presenting, organizing, and assessing learning objectives with scales. FOLLOW THE LINK above to recieve a free GUIDE to SCALES sharing my own experience and tips.
Looking for SCHOOL SITE LICENSES? Contact Melanie.licausi@mrslsleveledlearning.com
Mrs. L’s Blog
Black History Month Biography Research Project
Some kids have a clear idea of what kind of future they're working towards, and others may not have any good ideas, or any good examples of happy and successful adults in their lives. Helping kids connect with and claim a Hero can define their vision for the future...
Classroom Art and Science Activity for Halloween
Halloween is such a fun time to do special projects in your classroom. I am not one for wasting classroom time. I LOVE to find hands-on activities that integrate curriculum content! This idea combines the physical science concepts of light and shadows, with and an...
Proficiency Scales for Language Development Goals – Spanish Immersion, ESL, ELL
Can Proficiency Scales work outside of core subject matter? Yes! One of the Phoenix schools I worked with adapted scales to their special circumstances, their Spanish Immersion program. Think ESL, ELL. Together we brainstormed a few ideas during our professional development session. Read on to see what we came up with!
Assessment that Saves Classroom Time
Do you feel like WAY too much of your classroom time is spent completing standardized assessments? What if it were possible to develop an assessment that saves classroom time instead? Seriously! Read on to see the simple two-page leveled assessments that I’ve used to...
3 Easy Ways to Differentiate Vocabulary Practice
If you work with Higher Order Thinking skills (Marzano or Bloom's Taxonomy), you know that vocabulary mastery is more than memorizing definitions. Our goal is for kids to comprehend and apply vocabulary in the right contexts. Demonstrating GROWTH in vocabulary mastery...
Ultimate Growth Mindset Tool for Standards Based Grading
Standards Based Grading is the Ultimate Growth Mindset Tool! A simple shift in focus. Students track mastery in the standards, instead of earning points toward a subject grade. Students are assessed according to their level of PROFICIENCY. Standards Based Grading can be more helpful in targeting student strengths and weaknesses. Teachers are able to plan more specifically, i.e. “DIFFERENTIATE”, to support students level of understanding. It gives teachers the feedback they need to modify instruction. It also tells students exactly what to work on next!