Unit 5 calendar: when each block runs
Meeting dates for each block in Unit 5, by rotation
Block A rotation B rotation
Block 1 Wed Feb 24 Thu Feb 25
Block 2 Fri Feb 26 Mon Mar 1
Block 3 Tue Mar 2 Wed Mar 3
Block 4 Thu Mar 4 Fri Mar 5
Block 5 Mon Mar 15 Tue Mar 16
Block 6 Wed Mar 17 Thu Mar 18
Block 7 Fri Mar 19 Mon Mar 22
Block 8 Tue Mar 23 Wed Mar 24
Block 9 Thu Mar 25 Mon Mar 29

Your section follows one rotation, A or B. Check which one you are in and read that column.

Anchor question
How do you decide who's right when everyone has a legitimate claim?

Unit 5 names a skill the year has been building toward: perspective-taking. In Unit 2 you wrote to one audience (Greater Chennai Corporation planners). In Unit 4 you defended recommendations to that same audience. In Unit 5 you do something harder: you argue from a perspective that may not be your own, in a room with peers arguing from competing perspectives, where all positions have legitimate claims and no one position will fully win.

The summative (the Water Stakeholders Map + Position Paper) is the fourth major deliverable of the year. The Stakeholder Roundtable in Block 9 is the fourth defense in the year-long arc and the first one with a multi-stakeholder negotiation format (not Q&A). You'll predict 3+ competing positions, prepare 4+ challenge responses, and propose at least one compromise move in real time.

U5 is taught in three sections this year using slightly different scaffolds. Section A builds custom AI partners on BoodleBox (the Boodle Build Assignment: students build their own Stakeholder Voice bot for their chosen stakeholder). Section B uses pre-built Flint guided tutors. Section C uses paper-based Stakeholder Profile Packs (no AI). Each scaffold is designed to teach the same perspective-taking skill; they're pedagogically distinct, not quality-ranked. We're measuring which approach produces what outcomes. Your section's specific tools will be introduced on Day 1.

The Cauvery dispute is local and politically charged. Students with inherited views from Tamil Nadu or Karnataka families may find it hard to take an opposite-perspective stakeholder role; that's understood. The 8-case roster is designed for distance: if Cauvery is too close, Colorado / Nile / Aral / Mekong / Indus let you build the same perspective-taking skill in a context that isn't your family's dinner conversation. Stretch (a non-default perspective) is encouraged but not required.

The nine blocks

Block 1: Water Cycle + Reservoirs
Water-cycle diagram with reservoirs, fluxes, and residence times. Names the stakeholders in the Cauvery dispute as the anchor case.
A: Wed Feb 24 · B: Thu Feb 25
Block 2: Watersheds + Water Budgets
Watershed mechanics. Calculate input/storage/output water budgets. Distinguish surface water from groundwater.
A: Fri Feb 26 · B: Mon Mar 1
Block 3: Groundwater + Aquifers
Aquifer recharge + over-pumping + saltwater intrusion. Stakeholder mapping introduced: who is affected, who has voice.
A: Tue Mar 2 · B: Wed Mar 3
Block 4: Water Quality + Pollution
Pollution types + measurement. Reading the 8 water-rights case cards. Each card summarized in one sentence; narrow to 2-3 candidates.
A: Thu Mar 4 · B: Fri Mar 5
Block 5: Water Rights + Stakeholders Map Assigned
Case + stakeholder perspective locked today. Stakeholders Map + Position Paper assigned. The hard pedagogical pick: stretch vs. own-view-default.
A: Mon Mar 15 · B: Tue Mar 16
Block 6: Cauvery Deep Dive + Stakeholders Map Started
First major Position Paper work day. Cauvery case study + Bangalore worked-example Stakeholders Map demo + students start their own 7-field map.
A: Wed Mar 17 · B: Thu Mar 18
Block 7: Counter-Argument + Stakeholder Voice AI
Stakeholder Voice AI introduced. Identify strongest counter to your position; respond without strawmanning.
A: Fri Mar 19 · B: Mon Mar 22
Block 8: Drafting + Roundtable Rehearsal
Final drafting + Roundtable rehearsal. Predict 3+ competing stakeholder positions; prepare 4+ challenge responses.
A: Tue Mar 23 · B: Wed Mar 24
Block 9: Stakeholder Roundtable + Unit Close
Submission + live multi-stakeholder Roundtable. Negotiation format (not Q&A). Unit-close reflection + U6 preview.
A: Thu Mar 25 · B: Mon Mar 29

Assessment

AI partners for this unit

Resources for this unit