Your project will be conducted in five steps:

1. Identify an Issue

2. Develop a Guiding Question and Conduct Research

3 .Develop a Service Action Plan or Prepare a Detailed Action Plan

4. Reflect on your Learning

5. Present Your Plan

Capstone Project Template

NOTE: Remember, when you can, make sure you're narrowing your search by date (usually more recent content is preferred in the STEM fields, less necessary in the Humanities, History and the Arts) and also locating "peer-reviewed" and "full-text" resources if those search options are available (likely located under the Advanced Search option). Also, don't forget to check Lexile Levels. For topics you're unfamiliar with, lower Lexile numbers (800-1000) will help you gain background knowledge on a topic before delving deeper.

Britannica School (High): Students can toggle between 3 reading levels on each article, have articles read aloud, and use the Merriam-Webster double-click dictionary to hear words pronounced and read their definitions in English or Spanish. Each article can also be translated into over 80 languages. 

World Book Online: World Book Online delivers a progressive sequence of core databases supported by supplemental tools such as language translation, graphic organizers, and unique Webquests. World Book Online aligns end-users with their appropriate learning levels. Each stand-alone site provides additional features to support the needs of users’ specific capabilities. 

ABC-CLIO American History: From the explorers of the Americas to today's headlines, American History investigates the people, events, and themes of our nation's evolution.

SIRS Issues Researcher: Three databases in one! Sometimes the content overlaps, but choose from: Issues Researcher (Pro/Con, Controversial Issues), Government Reporter (Law, Government, International Relations) and Renaissance (Humanities, Literature, Culture).

CQ Researcher Online: Comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues shaping our world. (Pro/Con, Controversial Issues, News)

There are dozens of more databases in our Virtual Reference Collection, but these often produce the best results. 

To access any or all of the above databases, use the following credentials:

username: esm

password: sharks

CITATIONS

NoodleTools: An all-in-one research hub where you can record sources for your Works Cited page, create notes, outline and link to your GoogleDrive account to write your paper. (Use this link to create your account. Afterward, you can just use noodletools.com)

EasyBib: A place to create citations and a Works Cited page for your research. It can be linked to your Google account to save your citations for later use.