Topic Criteria

• The topic is of personal interest to the student
• The student knows enough about the topic to get started but can still benefit through further research
• The topic is global enough to be researched but narrow enough to allow time for depth
• The topic lends itself to the other components of the Graduation Project
• The student would not encounter unreasonable expenses
• The topic is intellectually engaging for the student and allows him/her to stretch and grow

It is important that the student chooses his/her own topic. Evidence has revealed that unless students are fully vested in the topic, they will lose interest and abandon the plan. It is best for students to pursue a new area or at least a new angle on an old topic. Many students who choose a topic with which they are very familiar do weak research, erroneously thinking they already know all there is to know about a topic from their years of experience. An important requirement of the Graduation Project is for the student to demonstrate a "learning stretch." Students will be discussing topic selection in homeroom and will be completing interest inventories in Freshman Seminar to help with this step in the process.

Possible Ideas

Arts

• Investigate the Arts as the first language of children.
• Teach young children literacy skills using an art form.
• Job-shadow an arts therapist and explore the field of art therapy.
• Research a performer, composer, artist, choreographer, playwright, etc.; then create an original work.
• Conduct a study of art reflecting historical events (e.g., eras, politics, cultures, ceremonies, rituals, etc.).

CTE

• Investigate the development and use of nanotechnologies.
• Investigate the plight of migrant workers past and present.
• Explore the influence of the Internet on the print or music publishing industry.
• Develop a guide for elementary students on how to use the Internet and online tools safely and responsibly.
• Investigate the role of the Internet and information access in destabilizing the Soviet Union.
• Explore the use of robotics in a particular science or industry using a timeline and then develop a multimedia presentation (e.g., wiki, podcast, web page).
• Investigate the influence of print and/or electronic media on public opinion related to a specific topic (e.g., isolationism, immigration, global warming, World War I, World War U, Vietnam, Cuba, Gulf War, War in Iraq).
• Explore careers by job-shadowing (e.g., journalist, writer, educator, scientist, law enforcement, and business/industry).
• Research the role of education and/or libraries in the American democratic process.
• Trace significant events in the Civil Rights Movement in North Carolina and develop a podcast or wiki about one pivotal event.
• Conduct research on a current news story and job-shadow a reporter.
• Research the effects of age discrimination in one of the following areas: white-collar jobs, blue-collar jobs, and broadcast media.
• Investigate commercials, movies, and/or video games marketed to preteens and develop a survey tool to collect and report findings.
• Explore use of online game development as a tool for learning.
• Explore the influence of conservatism on American politics from 1990-2000.
• Trace events that show how Russia has changed since the break-up of the Soviet Union, focusing on a specific sector of Russian life. Use a timeline to present findings in a wiki, podcast, multimedia, or web page production.
• Investigate the cause and effect of out-sourcing in manufacturing and information technology sectors and present findings.

English

• Teach adults to read.
• Teach young children to read.
• Investigate the publishing industry and write a guide for potential writers.
• Investigate the broadcasting industry and create a public service announcement-PSA.
• Job-shadow a journalist/reporter and create a school or class newspaper.
• Research the role of libraries in literacy and develop a reading center or some other project at a library.
• Research a poet or other author and create a poetry or short story collection.
• Research the effect of major tragic events on the media, such as 9/11.
• Research a current news story and job-shadow the reporter.
• Research sex or violence in the media and design a brochure or some other school publicity project that summarizes the results.
• Research the impact of advertising, movies, and other media on children and create a survey on the effects of that medium.
• Research information to develop brochures on child abuse, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, spina bifida, and eating disorders that can be distributed by local agencies.

ESL

• Produce an annotated portfolio of local historic churches featuring architectural techniques related to the target language.
• Create pottery representative of the Aztec style.
• Plan a menu. Prepare and serve a traditional Mexican meal that is formally evaluated by adults. (student from non-Hispanic/Mexican culture)
• Coordinate and create all props for the high school Latin classes to play some traditional Roman sports.
• Create an educational website particularly designed for language learners and share the website with an elementary school.
• Create blueprints and build a scale model of a home utilizing Frank Lloyd Wright techniques.
• Create a business plan for a Chinese restaurant.

Health

• Study Healthy Active Children Policy in increasing physical activity among youth.
• Analyze abstinence until marriage programs in improving health behaviors.
• Write a monthly health article in school and/or district newsletter.
• Create a social marketing campaign around tobacco awareness.
• After training, become a peer educator on health topics at local middle schools.
• Become a School Health Advisory Council member.
• Shadow a clinical health professional and develop strategies for incorporating health promotion into the profession.
• Work with central office risk managers to develop an employee wellness program.
• Participate in a university-based health research project.
• Develop bus placards, brochures, and screen savers to educate students about behaviors that result in suspensions and expulsions.
• Research the effect of media messages on health behavior and create health-promotion messages for students.
• Research local community health agencies and promote services on school campuses.

Information Skills

• Assess the causes and effects of adult literacy in North Carolina.
• Compare the plight of migrant workers past and present.
• Explore the influence of the Internet on the print or music publishing industry.
• Develop a guide for elementary students to use the Internet safely and responsibly.
• Investigate the influence of print and/or electronic media on public opinion on a topic (e. g., isolationism, immigration, global warming, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Cuba).
• Explore careers by job-shadowing (e. g., journalist, writer, educator, and business/industry consultants).
• Research the role of education and/or libraries in the American democratic process.
• Conduct research on a current news story and job-shadow the reporter.
• Research the effects of age discrimination in one of the following areas (white collar jobs, blue collar jobs, and broadcast media).
• Investigate commercials movies, and/or video games marketed to preteens; develop a survey tool to collect and report findings.
• Explore the use of online game development as a tool for learning.
• Explore the influence of conservatism on American politics from 1990-2000.
• Research how Russia has changed since the break-up of the Soviet Union.
• Investigate the cause and effect of out-sourcing in manufacturing and information technology sectors.

Math

• Analyze the impact of tourism on the local economy.
• Build a greenhouse.
• Create an architectural design/plan for a structure.
• Create and prepare a landscape design for a house.
• Create a record-keeping program for a business.
• Design and implement a math demonstration for a mathematics class.
• Design and maintain a web page for your school or a community organization.
• Draw blueprints and make a model.
• Support and assist in the building of a house with Habitat for Humanity.
• Construct a model of a roller coaster.
• Create a quilt representative of a selected math-related theme or message.
• Organize a dance team, choreograph dance routines, and prepare a program to present at a senior citizens' center or during half time at a sporting event.
• Paint a mural representative of a selected math-related theme or message.
• Plan, produce, and perform a musical concert.
• Plant a new crop and measure yield results.
• Prepare and market a cookbook with recipes for nutritious foods.
• Remodel a room in a public building or family dwelling for a physically challenged child or adult.
• Research fashion design of a specific era; then create a dress/suit representative of that particular period.
• Research, restore, and test drive an antique car. Prepare a journal documenting the process.
• Start a small business which markets or produces a product or service. Chronicle the process in a journal.
• Start a tutorial group for students needing assistance in a math class. Define the selection process for identifying students.
• Design an action plan for working with the students.

Physical Education

• Study Healthy Active Children Policy in increasing physical activity among youth.
• Conduct an analysis of quality physical education in improving lifetime health behaviors.
• Write a monthly physical activity and nutrition or weight management article in the school and/or school district newsletter.
• Create a social marketing campaign around tobacco awareness.
• After training, become a peer educator on health topics at local middle schools.
• Become a School Health Advisory Council member.
• Shadow a health club professional and develop strategies for incorporating health promotion into a profession.
• Work with the district's central office risk managers to develop an employee wellness program.
• Participate in a university-based physical activity research project.
• Develop flashcards, brochures, Power Point presentations, posters and screen savers to educate students about behaviors that result in physical fitness.
• Research the effect of media messages on health behavior and create health-promotion messages for students.
• Research the scope and practices of local and state fitness-related agencies and promote their fitness services on school campuses.
• Research professions to investigate and rank jobs based on wellness opportunities for employees.

Science

• Research the psychological and physiological effects of sleep deprivation and caffeine on teenagers.
• Study the human biological and social need for laughter.
• Investigate crocodilian conservation in coastal North Carolina.
• Explore flight.
• Study recycling and world impact for energy conservation and global warming.
• Investigate wildlife management.
• Look into the commercial uses of algae and methods of production.
• Conduct a study of territoriality in mice.
• Examine the effects of electrical fields on plants.
• Observe and research conditioned responses in different animals.
• Investigate stem cell research and DNA mapping.
• Make various inquiries into the medical field's use of robotics.
• Study the energy/fuel crisis. Look into the production of hybrid vehicles and the use of alternative fuels as more effective methods for mass transportation.
• Study conservation methods for home fuel, solar energy, and wind energy.
• Explore eco-building in the construction of environmentally friendly buildings and reusable buildings.
• Examine the effectiveness of straw, bamboo floors, energy-star ratings for appliances in the construction of new structures.
• Examine the use of hand tools versus mechanical tools.

Second Language

• Provide a community service requiring the use of a target language.
• Teach language for a purpose (elementary conversational use or use on a trip).
• Investigate jobs requiring language use at a required proficiency level.
• Examine the role of language.
• Create a school or class newspaper in a language other than English.
• Develop a service for students who speak a language other than English at school.
• Research and report on the cultural impact of famous people, literature, and historical events on student's own culture.
• Research the effects of traumatic events in the media, such as 9/11, from the point of view of people from other countries/speakers of a language other than English.
• Research advertising, movies, and other media forms from countries of a language other than English and compare to student's own culture.

Social Studies

• Lobby for a local initiative such as a park or teen center.
• Explore similarities and differences in world religions.
• Investigate crime prevention.
• Work with Habitat for Humanity.
• Investigate global warming.
• Investigate controversy in presidential polices.
• Research the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).
• Investigate nursing home care.
• Explore alternative fuels.
• Serve as an intern at a television station.
• Interview credible sources to record historical events or personal messages.
• Volunteer at a museum.
• Examine financial planning for the future.
• Examine urban growth and its effect on the economy.
• Investigate the rights of students who are arrested.
• Explore youth voter campaigns.
• Record oral histories of veterans.