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History, Civics & Social Studies · Grade 12

A Civic or Economic Research Capstone

The Grade 12 capstone. Learners choose a civic or economic question, design an evidence and data plan using public sources, analyze options against explicit criteria (effectiveness, cost, equity, feasibility, legality), and write a policy memo that presents trade-offs, counterarguments and limits. A fictional model on a city's library hours shows each stage. Learners may recommend an option or present a decision framework; no position is prescribed.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 160 minutes
  • Capstone skills check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, type a number and put in order
See plans Included with Family, Teacher and School plans. Open in PlayOwl

What learners will discover

  • Frame a researchable civic or economic policy question and its scope.
  • Design an evidence plan using public data and other sources, and calculate basic indicators from data.
  • Analyze policy options against explicit criteria, including a weighted comparison.
  • Write a policy memo that presents options, trade-offs, counterarguments and limits fairly.

Lessons

  1. Framing the question 4 steps3 practiceabout 38 min
  2. Evidence and data 5 steps4 practiceabout 40 min
  3. Options and criteria 5 steps4 practiceabout 40 min
  4. Writing the policy memo 5 steps3 practiceabout 42 min
  5. Capstone skills check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

More 12th grade social studies

Guide for grown-ups