The Story Collector
Shalisse Lewis Johnstun

The Capstone Project begins with a plan for study, research, or creative idea. It includes the

following sections:

 

Proposal:

• In this section, you will explain what it is that you want to know (or uncover) about your topic. This is where you ask the essential question. Why is this topic important to you and worthwhile for a research paper?

 

What I Know:

• In this section, you introduce your topic of research and explain your ideas and what you know (or think you know) about your topic.

 

The Search:

• In this section, you describe your search. What evidence did you uncover or discover? How do you support your findings? (Will you use a log, field study journal, an audio / video recording that documents your time spent on project?)

 

What I Learned:

• In this section, you combine your ideas and prior knowledge, with the evidence you uncovered. What conclusions did you reach? Do you have the same ideas or interests? What did you learn? This can be a formal paper, essay, research paper, project, movie, or website. If you are not doing a formal paper, your project still needs to be the same length as a five page formal paper?

 

Bibliography or Works Cited:

• This section is a list of all the exact sources you used in your paper. A minimum of five sources must be used if researching. This bibliography must be complete and accurate to avoid plagiarism. It will be a bibliography or a work cited based        on whichever best fits your project.

 

The Reflective Essay:

• The reflective narrative is a purposeful evaluation of what was learned. The essay gives you a chance to reflect on the Capstone process and project, address problems you encountered, analyze problem-solving strategies you used, and describe the resulting learning and personal growth. (Two pages)

• Paragraph One should engage your reader, state the topic of the paper and preview the essay’s format.

• Paragraph Two should address your learning stretch. Consider topics such skills as organization, time management or multi-tasking.

• Paragraph Three should discuss your project and how you went about your work, what you learned along the way and what you succeeded in or struggled with.

• Paragraph Four should tell your reader how your research relates to your project. It should also incorporate the components of the rubric.

• Paragraph Five concludes the essay for the reader and leaves the reader confident that you accomplished your goals. (Prior to grading, writing should be revised and proofread for mechanics and usage.)

 

Suggested ideas:

• Research an author and analyze their work.

• Write a novel, short story or collection of poetry. (You would still need to do research and be able to answer what do you want to or did you lean through the process.)

• Research a genre, literary period, historical period and analyze the artistic works created.

• Analyze a work of art, music, architecture, building, philosophical idea and write an essay of 3-5 pages over it.

• Find an issue in our town or school. Write a formal proposal defining the problem and offering a solution.

 

Any cross curricular project that requires you to:

• Integrate, synthesize, and make cross-curricular connections

• Plan and produce communication in various forms

• Propose solutions to real-world problems

• Plan and conduct a study or investigation

• Analyze topics through multiple lenses to construct meaning or gain understanding