SENIOR CAPSTONE
MCS/HFP
WHAT IS CAPSTONE

A Four-Part Project
Paper
Portfolio
Product
Presentation
HOW 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!
PRE-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!
YOUR 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

SAMPLE TOPIC
 Project
Topic
Harlem Renaissance
 Paper Topic
Impact of Harlem Renaissance on
African American history
 Products/Performances
Oral interpretation performance of
Langston Hughes’ poetry
SAMPLE TOPIC
 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
UNACCEPTABLE PROJECTS

No stretch or challenge: biography report,
babysitting your niece, creating a family photo
album

Group or collaborative projects

Illegal or immoral activities
UNACCEPTABLE 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.
RESEARCH PAPER MINIMUM
REQUIREMENTS

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.
YOUR 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.
PRODUCT/PERFORMANCE MINIMUM
REQUIREMENTS

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
YOUR 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

YOUR 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.)

YOUR PORTFOLIO
MUST INCLUDE…
Capstone Presentation Outline
 Capstone Presentation Practice Feedback Form
 Capstone Project Reflection Worksheet
 Capstone Reflection
 Capstone Portfolio Checklist

PRESENTATION MINIMUM
REQUIREMENTS
 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.
HOW 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.
WHEN IS CAPSTONE DUE?
Tentatively
March 2013
HOW 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

PERSONAL REFLECTION


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?