Middle School Capstone Project

The Middle School Capstone Project is designed to give students a meaningful and foundational civic experience before they enter high school. The project should be completed under the direction of a teacher with requirements that reflect the elements listed below.

● Identify an issue (local, state, national or global)

● Apply civic knowledge, skills, actions, and mindsets to the issue

● Reflect on their learning

● Present the project to a wider audience

A Middle School Capstone committee of at least three educators, including at least one social studies teacher, should be formed at the middle school level. This committee will collaborate with teachers to develop Middle School Capstone project(s) ideas and evaluation criteria. The committee will review projects to determine if students meet the criteria set by the school to receive the one point of credit toward the Seal of Civic Readiness.   At the middle school level, students are not required to present to the entire Middle School Civic Readiness Committee.  However, students should present their completed projects to their advisor/teacher and a group of classmates.

The Middle School Capstone can also include a service option which will allow students to volunteer within their school or community. Civic action or service can be very beneficial but requires significant parental and/or school support. At the middle school level, service is not required as part of the Middle School Capstone Project.

Middle School Civic Readiness Capstone projects completed for the Seal of Civic Readiness include these essential elements based on the definition of Civic Readiness: 

Essential Elements

Examine community

Identify situations in which social actions are required.

Participate in activities that focus on a classroom, school, community, state, or national issue or problem with the support of the classroom teacher.

Identify opportunities for and the role of the individual in social and political participation in the school, local, and/or state community.

Identify Issues With the support of the classroom teacher, identify a civic issue (problem) in the community.

● For example, define and frame questions about events and the world in which we live, and use evidence to answer these questions.

Identify rights and responsibilities as a citizen of the community and the state.

Conduct Research

Describe how the issue affects the daily lives and shapes the perspectives of similar and different stakeholder groups.

● For example, conducting interviews and administering surveys will help students understand the issue from different perspectives, including diverse  cultural groups.

Analyze and evaluate news, media, social media, and other sources of information for accuracy, bias, reliability, and credibility.

Analysis With the support of the classroom teacher, evaluate alternative solutions to address the community problem.

 Develop Strategies and Solutions

With the support of the classroom teacher, identify or develop solution(s) in the form of a public policy.

● For example, recognize an argument and identify evidence that supports the argument; examine arguments that are related to a specific social studies topic from multiple

perspectives; deconstruct arguments, recognizing the perspective of the argument and identifying evidence used to support that perspective.

Communicate in a civic context, showing the ability to express ideas, discuss, and persuade when presenting ideas.  (*Note: At the middle school level, students are not required to present to the entire Middle School Civic Readiness Committee. However, students should present their completed projects to their advisor/teacher and a group of classmates.) 

Take Action With the support of the classroom teacher,
● Develop an awareness of and/or engage in the political process.

● Create an action plan to enlist local or state authorities to adopt their proposed policy.

Demonstrate respect for the rights of others in discussions and classroom debates; respectfully disagree with other viewpoints.

Work to influence those in positions of power to strive for extensions of freedom, social justice, and human rights.

Communicate Participate in persuading, negotiating, and compromising in the resolution of differences and conflict; introduce and examine the elements of debate.

Demonstrate respect for the rights of others in discussions and debates; respectfully disagree with other viewpoints.

Reflection Analyze the experience, reflecting on the process that was implemented, challenges faced, successes, and future civic actions.

SOURCE: New York State Seal of Civic Readiness Manual 83-84

SS/ELA Project Template Option 2 

Civic Action Presentation Rubric

Moravia Middle School Capstone Project

SS/ELA Project Planning Template - to input ideas and resources for each step 

In developing guidelines for a Middle School Capstone Project, schools may want to develop a process that includes the following elements:

1. Under the direction of a teacher, students identify an issue or problem in their school, community, the nation, or the world as their area of focus. While some schools may decide to assign topics, the most meaningful projects are personally relevant to students and their interests. For example, projects might include hunger or food scarcity/insecurity, cancer, homelessness, endangered animals, preservation of hunting land, climate change, animal cruelty, access to youth athletics, juvenile diabetes, human rights, drug and alcohol abuse, issues surrounding family farms, etc.

2. Students develop a guiding question for their inquiry and then research the issue or problem they identified using multiple primary and secondary sources under the guidance of their advisor/teacher. Relevant research should be analyzed, with sources cited. While not required, students may want to contact organizations or individuals who are helping with their chosen issue for more information or an online interview. Letter writing can be included as an element in the project. Please note that any student contact with organizations or individuals outside of the school should follow procedures and protocols that have been developed by the school.  

3. After the completion of their research, students develop either a service action plan or a detailed action plan.

Option A

Service Action Plan: Students develop an action plan that focuses on how individuals can make a difference with the chosen problem or issue. After developing the plan, students should complete service hours as determined by the school.

Option B

Detailed Action Plan: Students develop a detailed action plan that includes:

● Analyze research and data to determine the impact of the issue on the community.

● Evaluate several possible solutions to address the problem.

● Recommend one strategy and develop a detailed plan to implement that strategy.

4. Students should reflect on what they have learned about their role in civic life and the community.

5. Students will present their middle school capstone project to their teacher/advisor and a group of students determined by the school.

New York State Seal of Civic Readiness Manual page 24-25

● Step 1: Convene the school’s Seal of Civic Readiness Committee

○ Appoint a committee to design and evaluate the Capstone Project

■ Consider including community representatives on the Committee

*A Middle School Capstone committee of at least three educators, including at least one social studies teacher, should be formed at the middle school level. This committee will collaborate with teachers to develop Middle School Capstone project(s) ideas and evaluation criteria. The committee will review projects to determine if students meet the criteria set by the school to receive the one point of credit toward the Seal of Civic Readiness.

● Step 2: Develop a structure for the Middle School Capstone Project

○ Develop a timeline for the completion of the Capstone

○ Develop the course structure within which the capstone project will live (i.e., Independent Study, a 12th grade course meeting the requirement for Participation in Government, a (Civics) Capstone Course, etc.)

● Step 3: Draft Middle School Civics Capstone Plan and Materials

○ Draft materials, student and teacher facing for the Middle School Capstone project

○ Develop evaluation tools (i.e., rubrics) to evaluate student progress during the work on the Capstone (i.e., formative assessment) and a summative evaluation of the Capstone

○ Share the materials with the school’s Seal of Civic Readiness Committee for feedback

● Step 4: Create a plan for appropriate professional learning for teachers supporting the capstone work

○ Should teachers attend training?

○ What training might be appropriate for teachers to attend?

● Step 5: Develop relationships with community organizations (as necessary)

○ Create MOU’s or other partnership agreements as necessary