Culminating Senior English Project

Your final project should demonstrate what you have learned in English Language Arts throughout your high school
career. It should also show evidence of leadership skills you have developed, in taking social action on an issue. The
project and your presentation of it, along with the artifacts of the development of the project, will be used to
determine your grade.

Your project may fall into one of the following categories:

Service-oriented project – Students will recognize and research a need in the community and devote 15 hours
of community service in that area. Examples include fundraising to support a local charity or cause (past
projects supported Crohn's Disease, the art dept., autism awareness, volunteering time at a nursing home or
humane society, working on a political campaign).

Self-development project – Students will recognize and research a skill that they are interested in developing
as an individual by performing, constructing, or creating something they have never had the skill base or
knowledge to do before. Examples include producing a play, completing a piece of art to be donated,
develop a website for a specific use, or getting certified in scuba-diving.

NHD Research Project - This category is open to students who have previously competed in Michigan History
Day at a state competition. Students will research a topic relating to the annual theme, create their project,
and present it at the regional competition (failure to present will result in a zero grade on the presentation
grade). The project entry will count as the essay portion and will be graded based on the judges’ score.

Procedures

1. Decide on one big idea, theme, topic or issue to focus your research (use prewriting strategies and record in
notebook/folder). In other words, figure out what you believe in, care about, or stand for.

2. Conduct research to shape your thinking. This could include a piece of literature that inspired or informed
your thinking or a video that resulted in seeing the big idea from a totally different perspective. Your
research may come from a variety of sources such as literature (novels, plays, dramas, biographies,
autobiographies, poetry, essays, memoirs, letters), informational text (textbooks, magazines, journal articles,
historical documents), media (film, webpages, blogs, movies, works of art), or music (lyrics, melodies,
recordings). You must have at least four different texts. They should not all be the same. For example, I
don’t want to see just media sources.

3. Critically read and review selected texts. Decide how you will use these materials to give you a foundation
for creating your project. What is the theme of the text (what statement is the text making about the
subject)?

4. Develop your project (do the service hours or learn your skill). Record your thinking throughout; it makes it
easier to write the essay toward the end of the year. Reflect on what is most important. Document the
process used in planning, researching, and producing your final project.
 5. Consider these essential questions: What responsibilities do I have to society? How can I effectively
articulate my opinions and perspectives? What leadership qualities have I developed? What qualities define
a good world citizen? How can I create the world I want to live in? How can I use my talents to create new
opportunities for myself and others? How can I make an important contribution to the world? How have
these answers changed as your project has progressed.

6. Reflect on your project. Was the project successful? What is my evidence? Was I an effective leader or
follower? What is my evidence? What had I not considered (planned for) that turned out to be very
important? What have I learned about social action?

Essay portion – a culminating essay should accompany your project that ties together all of the procedural steps of
your project. It should incorporate the various texts that inspired/informed you, examine some of the essential
questions, show what you have learned and tell why that benefits you. This essay will be a minimum of four pages
typed, with one inch margins, in twelve-point Times New Roman font. It will also include a works cited page (MLA
format) and a cover page with your name, title of the essay, and period of the class. Research should not compose
more than a ¼ of your essay.

Presentation – All projects must be presented to the community at Open House. You must include proof (photos,
video, instructor/supervisor letter/sign-in sheet) of your project and a visual for the audience. All group members will
be expected to be present and will be graded based on the joint visual and individual speaking effort. This may be a
PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation, a video, or a demonstration. If you have another idea for your
presentation, please see me. If you cannot be present at Open House, you have the option to complete a self-run
presentation or video to be presented at Open House. This must be submitted at least two weeks prior to Open
House.

Other notes…

➢ There may be no more than three to a group. Each individual is responsible for 15 hours of service in a
service project. Essays are individual, but the presentation of the project may be a joint effort.
➢ These projects should be issues that you’re concerned with. Projects in the past that were excellent were
ones that were well planned and centered on an issue that was important to that individual. If you choose
something you don’t care about just to fill hours, you may struggle connecting to the essential questions and
texts, research, and ultimately, your essay.
➢ All projects must be approved by Mrs. Saaranen and, if necessary, by Mr. Codere.
➢ Should your project be an event held on school grounds, it will need to be submitted in writing to Mr.
Sundblad, and approved, at least two weeks before the event. Promotional material must also be approved
and posted at least one full week before the event.

Component Due Dates

➢ Project Proposal: October 18th (If project changes for any reason after this date, project grade will drop 10%)
➢ Text Selection & Review: December 20th (or the day before Christmas Break)
➢ Draft of Essay: April 6th (at least two of the four pages must be completed with at least two of the four
sources cited in-text and in works cited). To be reviewed among writers’ group and myself.
➢ Presentation: Open House
➢ Final Draft of Essay: May 4th (May change depending on Open House)

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the

world – for indeed, that’s all who ever have.”
-Margaret Mead