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Group Norms Icebreaker: Our Rules For The Day
Brief Description/Purpose
Use this opening exercise as part of team building or as a means of having people get to know each other by working in small groups to establish guidelines or rules of the day or meeting.
Type
Small Group Activity
Age Appropriate
Teens, Adults
Ideal Group Size
Any group that can be divided into at least five groups of five, although it can be done with different sized groups or even pairs.
Time For Exercise
20-30 minutes.
Topic/Subject
Establishing group norms.
Detailed Instructions If Needed
- Divide group into smaller groups so there are at least five groups.
- Ask each group to use consensus and choose five "rules of the day" to establish group norms about how people can best benefit from the day.
- Reconvene into whole group, and starting with one group, ask for ONE of their rules. Write in on the flip chart. Then rotate around the room until each groups has contributed ONE.
- Then repeat going around again, and do so until there are no new suggestions.
- Go through the list and choose the "top ten" either in order of importance, or however you'd like to to it.
- End the exercise by indicating that it's your job (the group leader) to enforce these norms during the day or meeting.
Additional Information if Available
There are lots of possible variations. You can use the same procedure to establish the top ten principles for learning for the day, for example.