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Component
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Details
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Definition
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The 2e. Middle School Capstone Project provides students with a meaningful civic experience before high school.
- Students complete the project under teacher guidance, focusing on the following elements:
- Identify an issue (local, state, national, or global).
- Apply civic knowledge, skills, actions, and mindsets to address the issue.
- Reflect on their learning.
- Present the project to a wider audience (advisor/teacher and classmates).
- A service option may be included but is not required.
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Seal of Civic Readiness Committee Responsibilities
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- Form a Seal of Civic Readiness Committee composed of three or more educators, including at least one social studies teacher.
- Collaborates with teachers to develop project ideas and evaluation criteria.
- Reviews projects to determine if students meet the criteria for one point of credit toward the Seal of Civic Readiness.
- At the middle school level, students are not required to present to the full committee.
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Teacher Responsibilities
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- Guide students in identifying and researching a civic issue of interest.
- Support students in developing either a Service Action Plan or a Detailed Action Plan:
- Service Action Plan: Create a plan to address an issue and complete service hours.
- Detailed Action Plan: Analyze research, evaluate solutions, and propose a strategy to address the issue.
- Ensure all student contacts with outside organizations follow school procedures.
- Facilitate project presentations to an advisor/teacher and classmates.
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Student Responsibilities
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- Identify a relevant civic issue (examples: hunger, climate change, human rights).
- Develop a guiding question and research using multiple primary and secondary sources.
- Complete one of the following:
- Service Action Plan to engage in community service.
- Detailed Action Plan analyzing the issue and recommending solutions.
- Reflect on their civic learning experience and its impact on their role in the community.
- Present their project to a teacher/advisor and a group of peers.
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Resources
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See Toolkit Appendix R: Middle School Capstone Project Essential Elements
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