YEar 4, Overview for Teachers

Capstone in Community

The Year 4 Capstone in Community experience is designed to help students synthesize what it means to be a good person, good worker, and good citizen by identifying a meaningful issue and taking values-driven action in their community.

This curriculum is built in two flexible phases:

Semester 1: Design Phase (Lessons 1.1 - 1.12)

In the first half of the year, students move through a structured design process to:

  • Reflect on their values and community concerns

  • Identify an issue they care about

  • Conduct empathy-based research

  • Develop and test a prototype solution

  • Pitch their idea and revise based on feedback

  • Celebrate the conclusion of the design phase with a Semester 1 showcase

These lessons are intended to be used weekly or biweekly, typically in an advisory period, Capstone class, SEL class, or integrated into an English, Civics, or Social Studies course. Each lesson includes active learning strategies and reflection prompts, and builds toward a student-designed community-impact project.

If your school only has one semester available for Capstone, you can choose to move more quickly through these lessons or select a subset of the lessons that best fit your goals. In this case, we recommend keeping Lessons 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 1.10, and Mini-Lesson 2.4 as anchors.

Overview of Lessons (Semester 1)

👤 (Good Person) 💼 (Good Worker) 🌍(Good Citizen)

This is the same lesson arc shared with students in Lesson 1.1:

Semester 2: Implementation Phase (Flexible Toolkit)

In the second half of the year, students implement, revise, and reflect on their Capstone projects. Instead of weekly lessons, teachers are provided with flexible mini-lessons, trackers, and reflection tools. These are designed to be used as needed to keep students on track, respond to real-world obstacles, and support reflection and revision. Teachers can incorporate them during class time, check-ins, or ongoing portfolio work.  

Semester 2 Implementation Phases

Need Support Making It Fit?

  • Teaching on a block schedule? Many lessons can be combined or shortened.

  • Want to integrate with English, Social Studies, or Civics? Emphasize ethics, community voice, and storytelling.

  • Short on time? Use core anchor lessons and extend reflection and action outside of class.

  • Have more time? Use out-of-class extensions and student community logs for deeper connection.

This curriculum is adaptable by design, and our goal is to help students lead meaningful, values-aligned projects that reflect who they are—and who they’re becoming.