- Through this exercise students indentify both cultural links and differences between each other, giving them an opportunity to learn cultures in a non-threatening, language-rich, community-building environment.
| Instructor Prep. Time | Student In-Class Time | Student Out-of-Class Time |
| None | 1 hour | None |
- Paper
- Pen/pencil
- Chalkboard or whiteboard
- English dictionary
Step-by-Step Procedure:
- Write Rules of the House on the board.
- Ask: Who knows what kind of legal system is used in the United States? What are the features of such a system? While the students volunteer answers to these questions, the instructor should write key terms on the board: common law, case, rule, precedent, etc. If the students don’t volunteer such terms, ask if anyone can provide a definition. If not, ask for a volunteer to look the terms up in the dictionary and share the answers with the class. This step can be adapted according to the context. In a class of international students holding law degrees from their home countries, for example, students may know these terms but need help with pronunciation. In a high school social studies class, the instructor may need to refer back to a prior lesson or be prepared to spend more time on this step.
- Break students into groups of five, ensuring that students in each group come from a variety of home countries/cultures.
- Tell each group they are moving into a house they have rented near campus for the duration of their degree program – a minimum of one year. The house serves as a metaphor for a democratic society, and the making and application of rules shows students how law develops and adapts according to societal needs.
- Tell the students each house has one irrevocable “rule”: no one may move out.
- Ask each group to divide the expenses and household chores and develop a set of any other rules they choose. These rules should be written out as if they might be posted on the wall of the house.
- Give groups 20 minutes to develop their house rules.
- At the end of the 20 minutes, have a representative from one group go to the board, write their lists of rules and chore assignments, and then read them out loud to the class. The instructor then asks the class if they can anticipate any problems that might arise from these rules. For the first group, the instructor should be prepared to introduce potential problems until the students catch on. The instructor should also be prepared to introduce any missing cultural information. Students from warm climates, for example, may fail to assign snow removal chores. Students who have never lived away from home or dormitories may fail to assign the payment of utility bills or for setting out of trash.
- As classmates or instructor present potential unanticipated problems, ask the group whether (and how) they would revise their rules accordingly.
- After the first group has revised a rule or two, repeat this process for all other groups.
- If time permits, make sure each group has considered a remedy for infractions of their house rules or how they handle someone who refuses to follow the rules.
- Before this activity is over, make sure students reflect on how the house rules reflect, shape, and/or fit into the house’s “society.”
Suggestions for Use:
- The ideal class size for this module is 20, although it can be adapted for smaller or larger classes.
- The steps in the procedure should be used as a guide only. Students’ knowledge of common law, legal terms, and household vocabulary will have an impact on the direction this module takes.
- Students whose first language is not English spend more time discussing household vocabulary, for example, than students for whom English is a first language.
- Rules of the House -- Adapted from Donna Hill’s “Rules of the House,” a lesson intended for native speakers of English enrolled in a U.S. law school.