S ENIOR C APSTONE MCS/HFP

W HAT IS C APSTONE A Four-Part Project Paper Portfolio Product Presentation

H OW DO I PICK A PROJECT ? The High School Capstone Project is one of the most important assignments of your high school career. Select a topic that interests you!

P RE - PLANNING Think about all the things you are interested in. Think of things you would like to do, learn, understand, see, improve, create, or experience. You have One Week to get your ideas together!

Y OUR PROJECT MUST … be a personal stretch and challenge Take a minimum of 25 hours outside of class time to complete be approved by your Capstone School Committee and by your parents be an individual project - no group or collaborative projects

S AMPLE T OPIC Project Topic Harlem Renaissance Paper Topic Impact of Harlem Renaissance on African American history Products/Performances Oral interpretation performance of Langston Hughes’ poetry

S AMPLE T OPIC Project Topic Culinary Paper Topic Characteristics of southern Develop artifacts for a southern cuisine Product Develop artifacts for a southern cuisine restaurant including advertisement, signage, menu, and sample dishes

U NACCEPTABLE PROJECTS No stretch or challenge: biography report, babysitting your niece, creating a family photo album Group or collaborative projects Illegal or immoral activities

U NACCEPTABLE PROJECTS Partial work - If you say you are going to write a novel, you may not turn in only three chapters with a promise to finish the novel during your college years. This product can not be judged in its incomplete form.

R ESEARCH P APER M INIMUM R EQUIREMENTS Your paper must… Be typed. Be a at least 7-10 pages, excluding the title page or works cited page. Have a cover page that identifies the title, student, English teacher, and date. Use a minimum of ten resources; students encouraged to use Tennessee Electronic Library.

Y OUR PAPER MUST … Be properly formatted with one-inch margins, double spacing, and twelve-point Times New Roman font. Use accurate MLA in-text citations and works cited page. Use charts and graphs when appropriate, but no decorative clipart or drawings. This is a serious scholarly paper. Be stapled in the upper left-hand corner.

P RODUCT /P ERFORMANCE M INIMUM R EQUIREMENTS Your product must: Be a physical, tangible product or a videotape of your performance Be an extension of your research Be high quality and reflect time and effort as documented in your Project Log Be a demonstration of your learning stretch

Y OUR PORTFOLIO MUST INCLUDE … Cover Page: word processed, to be inserted in front of the binder Letter of Introduction to your Capstone Review Panel members Table of Contents Capstone Letter of Intent Capstone Parental Permission Form

Y OUR PORTFOLIO MUST INCLUDE … Capstone Project Approval Form Capstone Research Documentation (Sources and Notes) Capstone Research Paper - clean copy Capstone Project Log (25 hour minimum) Annotated Bibliography Capstone Product or Performance Documentation (digital photographs, DVD, etc.)

Y OUR PORTFOLIO MUST INCLUDE … Capstone Presentation Outline Capstone Presentation Practice Feedback Form Capstone Project Reflection Worksheet Capstone Reflection Capstone Portfolio Checklist

P RESENTATION M INIMUM R EQUIREMENTS Your presentation must: Be approximately15-20 minutes in length including a question and answer period. Include your product to provide physical evidence of your accomplishments. Address not only the project and the research, but challenge(s) along your project journey that led to your personal and academic growth.

H OW SHOULD I DRESS ? You should follow your teacher’s guidelines on dress for your Capstone presentation. Neatly styled hair and clean, pressed clothes are important. School uniforms are certainly appropriate.

W HEN IS C APSTONE D UE ? Tentatively March 2014

H OW DO I PACE MYSELF ? August: Narrow down topic September: Gather Sources and Take Notes October: Work on Outline and Begin paper November: Work on Portfolio and Work on Draft December : Finish Draft January: Finish Paper, Finish on Portfolio, and Start on Presentation and Product February: Finish Presentation and Product March: Final Touches

P ERSONAL R EFLECTION What changes will I need to make to my work/study habits in order to get through Capstone? On what days will I have the most amount of time to devote to Capstone?