Basketball  Basics:

Basketball players move a ball on a court by dribbling, passing, and shooting. Points are scored when a player shoots the ball through the hoop. A basket counts as two or three points, and free throws count one point each. The team scoring the most points wins the game.

A basketball game has four quarters.  The length of each quarter has 10 minutes.  Play starts with a “jump ball” at center court. At halftime, teams switch sides. Each team has a number of time-outs per half. If a game ends in a tie, teams usually play overtime periods until one team wins.

Useful Vocabulary:

At a Glance:

Jump Shot - A shot made while jumping in the air
Lay-up – A shot made close to the hoop, while running
Bank Shot – A shot where the ball touches the backboard first
Dunk - A player jumps and slams the ball into the basket.
Hook Shot - A one-handed shot, usually facing sideways
Free Throw - A free shot taken from the foul line after a foul
Personal Foul – Illegal body contact on a player from the other team
Charging – A player with the ball runs into an unmoving player in a defensive position
Blocking – A defensive player may only block a player using an unmoving defensive position
Technical Foul – When a player uses bad conduct 

Quick Exercises for Beginners:

Pass Drills:
-    Break class into small groups
-    Two groups face each other
-    First student from one group passes the ball to the first student from the other group, then moves to the back of the group
-    Try practicing different types of passes (bounce pass, chest pass, passes while dribbling, etc)

Shooting Drills:
-    Similar to pass drills (small groups)
-    Practice different kinds of shots (lay-ups, hook shots, bank shots)

Sample Activity: Zone Ball

Purpose: For students to learn the concept of zone defense in basketball.  Students will utilize non bounce passing skills to successfuly share the ball with teammates, and additionally will learn how to move without having the ball in their hands.

Description: The teacher will set up defense zones, such as a 2-1-2, using hula hoops.  Students playing defense must stand inside the hula hoops.  The offense must chest pass the ball to each other without ever letting the ball touch the ground.  Therefore there is no dribbling in this activity; each student must freeze when he receives a pass and quickly decide who they will pass to next.  Each person on offense must pass the ball at least once before anyone can attempt a shot. 
Each time the ball touches the ground it is a turnover and the defense and offense switch positions. 

Objective: The offense must try to make a shot without letting the ball touch the ground.  The defense must try to disrupt the offense and therefore take control of the ball.
 

Juggling is a skill that consists in moving one or more objects at the same time for entertaining.


There are many ways of juggling: throwing and catching the objects, bouncing them (balls) or contact juggling (move the object around your body with constant contact).

What objects do jugglers use? Balls, bean or rice bags, handkerchiefs, rings, knives, clubs, diabolos, devil sticks...

We are going to learn some basic skills with balls.


A) EXERCISES WITH ONE BALL:

You must start with only one ball to be able to progress correctly. Be patient!!

The first and most important thing to learn is to throw and catch one ball correctly.  

Hold both hands in front of you with your palms facing up. Try to throw the ball about as high as the top of your head.

The goal is to have the ball land in the other hand, so the most important thing is to thow it accurately.

You must catch it with the other hand without moving it. Do not reach up to catch the ball; the ball must land on your hand.

Now practice throwing one ball from one hand to the other, with diffent trajectories: high, low...

A little more difficult: Throw it from your back, between your legs...

Remember that in class we do much more exercises. Practice them!

Now look at this video from www.monkeysee.com

Now that you have mastered this, we can start with two balls:

B) STARTING WITH TWO BALLS:

You must first start exploring your possibilities, as you did with one ball.

So hold one ball in each hand , an throw them at the same time and at the same height. Catch them.

Practice different cathes.

Now alternate throwings. Throw one ball, and when this one reaches its peak, throw the other one, so that one one is up, the other is down.

Remember that in class we do much more exercises. Practice them!

b1: Two balls in one hand:

This develops your coordination before starting with three balls.

Hold two balls with one hand, and place your other hand at your back. Throw one ball up, and when it reaches the peak, throw the other one.
Catch them.
Remember it is more important to throw than to catch. Focus in throwing correctly, so that the balls fall into your hand.
At the beginning, the balls will fall to the floor. But if you throw correctly instead of chasing the balls, you will juggle in no time.

Remember that in class we do much more exercises. Practice them!

Now look at this video from www.monkeysee.com

b2: Exercises with two balls:

You must first start exploring the possibilities, as you did with one ball.

So hold one ball in each hand , an throw them at the same time and at the same height. Catch them.
Practice different cathes.

Now alternate throwings. Throw one ball, and when this one reaches its peak, throw the other one, so that one one is up, the other is down.

Remember that in class we do much more exercises. Practice them!

Now look at this video from www.monkeysee.com

C) EXERCISES WITH THREE BALLS:

Then, the first 2 throws will be the same as you just did with 2 balls... but when ball 2 is coming down, throw up ball 3.

If you catch them all, they will each land in the opposite hand from where they started.

Remember, pause between each throw and try to throw each ball to the same height.

The important thing is to throw three times.  Do not worry if you don´t catch the three of them. The first times you do this, some may fall.
If you don´t throw the third ball because you are chasing the second one, no juggling is possible!!

Just make 3 throws and then stop and relax. Try to throw with more accuracy each time until the three balls land in their place, without chasing them.

Remember that in class we do much more exercises. Practice them!

Now look at this video from www.monkeysee.com

English Games For Physical Education   by Sandra Hazel
 

The flag:

Each team has control of half of the ground. The aim of the game is to cross into the other teams’ area, capture their flag and return it to your own side. At the same time you must prevent your flag from being captured by the other team.

If a member of the opposite team in on your side of the field you can tag them and then they must go to your jail. In order to be freed from jail you must be tagged by a player who is on your team.

Rules:
Only one person from each team is allowed to guard jail.
Only one person from each team is allowed to guard the flag.
If a member of the opposite team manages to get into the flag circle without being tagged they are safe and cannot be tagged until they go back out of the circle.

The winner is the first team to capture the flag from the other team and get it to their flag circle.

Snake tag:

Everyone is split into groups of three or four people, except for one person who is ‘it’. The groups form ‘snakes’ by standing in a line and holding the waist of the person in front. The person at the front of the chain is the head and the person at the back is the tail. To start the person who is ‘it’ must catch the tail of one of the snakes. When this happens the head of the snake must break from the chain and become ‘it’.

The aim of the game is for the snakes to twist and turn to prevent the person who is ‘it’ catching their tail.

The aim of the person who is ‘it’ is to join a snake.

Rules:
All players must remain in the designated area of play
The snakes must remain joined except for the head breaking off if the snake gets joined by ‘it’
If ‘it’ gets both hands on the waist of the person who is the tail of the snake the head must detach immediately.

Heads or tails:

The players are divided into two teams. One is called HEADS and the other TAILS. They stand back-to-back in two parallel lines, along the centre of the playing area. Each person takes three steps forward so that there is a gap between the two teams. There is a line set up on either side of the playing area to indicate a safe zone for each team.

 To start a coin in tossed into the air. Once the coin has landed on the ground the instructor calls out either “HEADS” or “TAILS” depending on which side it has landed. If it was tails, the TAILS team must run to their safe zone. The HEADS team will turn around and try to tag the TAILS team before they reach their safe zone. The players which get tagged before they reach their safe zone then join the opposite team. For example, if TAILS is called and one of the HEADS team manages to tag a member of the TAILS team before they reach the safe zone that player changes from a TAIL to a HEAD.
After each toss and chase, players return to the centreline position with any players who got tagged changing sides. The game continues until one team has managed to capture every member of the other team, and that team is the winner.

The blob:

Two people in the group are told to link arms- they are the blob. The rest of the players run around the designated area. If someone gets tagged by the blob, they must link arms and join one end. This continues until all members of the group become part of the blob. The last ‘free’ person is the winner.
Rules:
Only the two people at either end of the blob can tag others.
‘Free’ players must stay within the designated area.
The blob must stay joined together at all times.


Bench ball:

Set up the gym with a bench at each end, and a row of cones/markers down middle to divide the space into two halves. You will also need a large soft ball for the students to throw.
Divide the class into two teams and give one team armbands or bibs. Team 1 should be in one half of the court, team 2 in the other.
There are two teams each one occupying one half of the court. Both teams choose a goalie, who stands on the bench in the opposition's half of the court. 
The idea of the game is for players to throw the ball to their goalie without it being caught by the other team. As teams score goals, the scoring player joins the goalie on the bench. Players pass the ball between themselves until someone decides to shoot.

- A goal is only valid if the goalie catches the ball when on the bench (not whilst falling off!)
Before playing this game remind children of the need to be careful when standing on the benches, especially when trying to catch the ball. Make sure the benches are away from walls/other apparatus. I also use a 6 person limit to the amount of goalies on the benches - subsequent goalies stand on the floor at either end of the bench.
The first team with everyone on the bench wins.

Pizza Shop:

Two people (pizza makers) stand in the middle of the gym and the rest of the players stand behind a line at one end of the gym. The coordinator goes down the line informing them what topping they are by saying pepperoni, mushroom, cheese, pepper, pineapple or ham. The pizza makers are to call out one topping and those toppings are to run across the gym past the safe line. If they’re tagged they are out of the game.  They try to tag anyone that passes them during the game. Do this until there are only two people remain in the game. They are the new pizza makers.


Duck, Duck, Squirt:


All players sit or stand in a circle. Pick a person to be it. They are to go around the circle saying ‘Duck, Duck, Duck,’ when they say ‘squirt’ they use the water pistol to squirt the person they are behind. The person who has done the squirting has to run around the outside of the circle and back to the player’s place in the circle without getting tagged by the person who was squirted. If the ‘squirter’ gets back to the place without being tagged the person who got squirted becomes the ‘squirter’. If they get tagged they have to remain as the ‘squirter’ and run faster next time!

Equipment- water pistol/ water bottle


Mr Wolf:

This game is good for revising time.
One person will start out being Mr Wolf. Mr Wolf will stand at one end of the play area and all the other players will be at the other end. The other players will all say at once... “What’s the time Mr Wolf?” The Wolf will answer with a numeric time like 2 O'clock. If he does, the players will take two steps closer (the number of steps is the same as the time) and repeat... “What Time Is It Mr Wolf?” He then again answers with another time and the rest of the players step forward again. Once Mr Wolf thinks that they are close enough to chase he will respond instead with... “Dinner time!” Mr Wolf will then chase the players and the first one that is tagged will become Mr Wolf.

Stuck-in-the-mud:

Three people in the group are ‘on it’. They must try to tag the other players. If you get tagged you must stand with your legs and arms apart and may not move. You can be ‘freed’ if another person crawls between your legs. The aim of the people who are ‘on it’ is to get all of the other players stuck-in-the-mud.


Banana Olympics:

There are two teams in this game. Each team has a banana. There are a number of different rounds. Each time the first member of the team will go to the other end of the court and back (following the specific instruction) then tag the next person who will do the same until everyone in the team has had a turn. They must then sit down. The first team to do this wins the round.

The rounds:
    •    Hold the banana and run to the other end of the court and back.
    •    Put the banana under your armpit and hop on one leg to the other end of the court and back. 
    •    Place the banana between the knees and run to the end of the court and back. (The banana must be passed between team members without using hands.
    •    Hold the banana under your chin and run to the end of the court and back. (the banana must be passed without hands)
    •    Balance the banana on one foot and run to the end of the court and back.
    •    Crawl to the end of the court and back with the banana on your back.
    •    Balance the banana on your head to the end of the court and back.
    •    Hold the banana between your head and shoulder and skip to the end of the court and back
Final round: The team must peel and eat the banana- the team you finishes first wins.
The team who is the first to complete more rounds is the winner.

Peg chase:

Each player starts with a clothes peg clipped onto the back of his or her shirt (at the bottom). The players run around the designated area trying to get the pegs from each other. If your peg is taken you are out of the game. If you capture a peg you clip it next to your own. The person with the most pegs at the end of the game wins. You can only remove one peg at a time.
You will be disqualified if:
1. Your peg is not clearly visible
2. You go outside of the designated area


Ladders:

The group is split into pairs. They sit in two lines facing each other, with their feet touching.
Each pair is given a name (this can be anything, but we can use vocabulary that they have learned recently in class). A caller then shouts out the names of the pairs (this can be done in the form of a story). When the pairs name is called they stand up run to the end of the line over the other pairs’ legs, around the back of the lines and back to their place. The two lines are competing against each other and the person who sits down in the pair gets a point for their team.

Get the ball:

Players get into groups of 2 or 3 with a ball. Place the ball in the middle of the group
The teacher shouts commands to the students which they follow e.g. touch your head, touch your toes, jump on one foot, skip around the circle, stand on one leg, etc.
As soon as the teacher shouts "ball", the players need to grab the ball as quickly as they can. The person who gets the ball first wins.
This can be adapted by using your feet to drag the ball back on the command of "ball".

Pirate ship:
There are a series of pirate related words which are shouted out in a random order by the teacher. The players have a action which they have to follow for each word. The actions are as follows:

Scrub the Decks = children crouch down and pretend to clean the floor with their hands.

Climb the Rigging = children pretend to climb a rope ladder.

Captain's Coming = children salute and shout out "Aye Aye Captain"

Man the Lifeboats = find a partner, sit on the floor facing each other, holding hands and rocking backwards and forwards (as in "row,    row, row your boat").

Captain's Wife = everyone curtseys (boys think this is hilarious!).

Submarines = children lie on floor with one leg raised like a periscope

Walk the Plank = children have to walk in a perfect straight line one foot exactly in front of the other with arms outstretched to the sides (children could also walk along benches).

Captain's daughter = children pose like a model (one hand on hip. the other outstretched and slightly bent) and say "Oooooooooooh!

Hit the Deck = children lie down on their stomachs as quickly as possible.

Port =run to left-hand side of the court

Starboard = run to right-hand side of the court

Bow = run to front of the court

Stern = run to back of the court