Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Hanna Kownacki

Date: October 26, 2022
Teacher: Ms. Lacroix
Capstone strand I have chosen is Project Capstone
Proposed title for my project: A New Life for Fishie

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that
connects with a purpose, passion or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that
you cannot just google an answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:

Why is it important for the next generation learn to make this earth a healthier place to live?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are
choosing to investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect
to your passion(s), purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

I am choosing to make a children's book on pollution as my capstone because I have always

wanted to make a children's book and I have always had an interest on how to save the planet
from pollution. I have always wanted to find a way to help this planet and by teaching the next
generation, with something as simple as a children’s book, I hope that I can make a difference
in their lives and hopefully the lives of many others in the future.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this

area of inquiry?

I know about many of the landfills and garbage patches there are in the ocean and on land
that effect the life around it, therefore effecting us. Not only land and water pollution, but there
is also noise pollution, sound pollution, and air pollution that is harming us and everyone else
on this planet bit by bit. I know how each and every one of us has an effect on pollution and if
everyone can change just a little bit and choose a better way of living, it can help all of us in
the future to live a healthier life. We are the reason the earth is slowly dying and we are the
only ones that can at least try to change it. We only have so much more time before it’s
irreversible so we have to do all that we can now to change it and teach others to
acknowledge our wrong doing.

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What
connections does this inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

I have always loved and found a passion for helping animals and people. My goal in my
career is to become a veterinarian and I have always been intrigued by our effect as humans
on the earth and the animals living on it. If I am unable to help animals by becoming a
veterinarian, I would love to help save the earth even if it is only to inform the next

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 generations.

Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core
competencies will be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

Some core competencies that are going to be connected with my project will be how “I know
my strengths and what makes me unique.” This ties into how I know my strengths and I will
use my ability to draw and my ideas to make a creative book. Another core competency that
can be connected with my capstone is that “I can reflect on the processes of learning and
share what I have learned.” This is a simple reason why this is connected to my capstone
because I am using what I have learned about pollution to share my information for others. A
core competency that I was not good at can be improved because of this capstone is that “I
understand the purpose for my work and consider my audience.” By making this project, I find
purpose in my work and how it can change and effect my audience with the information that I
give them.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to
present your project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once
completed. You may use a combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o imovie presentation
o YouTube channel

I will be presenting my project as a physical book. I will use shutterfly to make my book and I
will have to complete it earlier so that to get my physical book in the mail in time for my
interview.

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what
will you research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced
at the end of this project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your
proposal.

My capstone will be surrounding the problems of pollution and how the newer generations
have to be aware of the state of the planet and try to change and help us survive and live
longer healthier lives. Making a children’s book has always been something I have wanted to
do and I believe that this is a perfect opportunity for me to make a book to make the younger
generations (which are the future of this planet) aware of their impact on the planet and how
they can change it.
My book will go over how us, as humans, have affected the planet. It will be about a fish that
has been chosen and taken home from a pet store and as their human is setting up their fish
bowl, this fish will inform them about how polluted their home is. It will go over how humans
have changed their lives and tell them ways they can change it. It will also go over a How-To
build a fish tank that will keep your fish happy and healthy that will base it off their natural
habitats.
This children’s book will engage the children in a fun way with colorful pictures and inform

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 them how they can make their future lives better and help all the other fishies in the ocean.
This will bring acknowledgement towards the pollution problems at a younger age and
hopefully have them make a change. Our future is in their little hands and if we don’t inform
them then there will never be a change.
After finding information about the different types of sources and reasons for all of this ocean
pollution, I will make a children worthy definition that will bring importance to them. I will also
learn the skill of how to draw digitally and use that to make the book a happy and colorful. I
will not only gain the knowledge of pollution and how to stop it or reduce it, but I will also gain
the skill of drawing digitally. That will also help me in the future as my second choice for my
career in the future.
1) Make the characters and the plot
2) Find out about the best environment for fish
3) Create character and setting designs
4) Practice characters digitally
5) Draw the rough draft of the plot and book design
6) Create all of the illustrations that fit with the writing and download them online
7) Create the book and order it ahead of time
Those are all the steps I need to do to complete this capstone.

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and

skills you will need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to
access/learn all of the resources necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail
your plans.

I will need to use my laptop and a shutterfly account to create the book. I will also use an ipad
and apple pen (if not pen, a stylus) to draw my illustrations digitally. I will find a drawing app
such as procreate that I will teach myself how to use the tools and draw. I have to start off by
making a plot and characters that will be the skeleton for my project.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will

you need to help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you?
What is your plan to access the mentorship/community connections necessary for this
project?

I plan to have my mentor as my uncle that makes amazing art digitally and physically. He will
teach me how to use the apps necessary to draw and improve my skills. I will also have my
mom’s help teaching me how to use shutterfly, as this will be made and shipped on her
account.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee
that might affect progress with your Capstone Project?

I would see that time and my skills could be a potential obstacle making this capstone to my
fullest abilities. I have limited skills in drawing and it can set me back if I have expectations for
myself, and the resources that I need might be difficult for me to aquire.

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Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about
your project that you feel should be included in your project proposal.

This project will be about a story of a fish that explains how humans are effecting the planet
and how his home is a mess and how they can change it while adding a how-to build a
healthy environment for your fish at home in a fish tank.

References:

Attach a REFERENCE LIST. Your list should be written using correct APA formatting.
An example is provided on page 21 of your Capstone booklet.

ALDRICH, R. (1946). How to Write a How-To Book. Prairie Schooner, 20(4), 288–291.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40623798
T.G. (2019). OCEAN POLLUTION: JAWS OF DRECK. ASEE Prism, 28(8), 13–13.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26820239
Stegall, C. C. (1956). Fourth Graders Write A Book. Elementary English, 33(1), 18–23.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41384422

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