So you’re gonna start planning your Basketball Unit?
First things first – kick it off by reminding those athletic kids that think they don’t need any practice with fundamentals that even PRO players practice the fundamentals to get better and master their skills.
I always wait to teach my basketball unit until March since there is so much buzz about March Madness, it seems like it’s more culturally relevant. To kick off the unit I always start with watching a cool Globetrotters video and explain to the students how important it is to work on the fundamentals of the game even if you are a pro.
See an example of a ball handling video below, but you can also check out their YouTube page – they have a ton of videos.
Management and Equipment
To kick off the unit I always remind kids that when the music stops I need them to stop, drop and listen and place the ball on the ground.
I give my kids a choice of a Playground Ball, Size 3 Arcarde Basketball or a Youth Basketball (27.5) see an overview below:
View this post on Instagram
- All the balls are linked up in our Amazon Store if you want a link I also linked them up individually below:
After going over a few of the management protocols and cues we bring all the students into a circle in the middle of the gym and teach them some fun ball handling drills that will help them improve their basketball skills.
These are great drills that kids can practice at home with any type of ball. See a model example of instruction from my awesome co-teacher Marcus Nellems below teaching Slaps, Taps, Wraps, Flips and Flops.
After teaching the ball handling drills during the first lesson, we begin the following lessons of our unit by doing a quick warmup for about 3-4 minutes of Follow the Leader skills and ask students to work on keeping their eyes up and trying to copy the ball handling moves that the teacher is doing without looking at the ball.
It’s a quick, fun warm-up and the students enjoy it. You can modify the moves for younger students to make it easier. See an example of me leading a 5th grade class in Follow the Leader below
The success of these follow the leader style tasks actually led to the creation of the Basketball Follow the Leader Pack, which is a set of Videos and Slideshows with GIFS showing examples of all of the ball handling tricks that we use use in the unit. You can check it out linked up at the bottom of this post. Example of how I use them below:
View this post on Instagram
We do similar warm-ups during our soccer unit and jump rope unit.
Teach the drills at the beginning and then do a follow the leader style warm-up to kick off the following lessons with the footwork drills we taught to the students during the first week.
Passing and Shooting
After we work on dribbling and ball handling we move on to Passing and Shooting which you can check out by clicking the graphic below
Basketball Dribbling Cues Assessment
At the end of the unit I give my 2nd graders a verbal quiz to see if they know the 3 cues for a basketball dribble, this is one of our common report card assessments for 2nd grade (details on how I do grades here).
You can see how I do the Basketball Skill Cues Knowledge Quiz by clicking the link below, it’s pretty simple:
Check Out the Basketball Cues Knowledge Assessment
Basketball Station Activities
With my K-2nd Graders I also do lots of Station Work (more info on teaching with stations here) so they can build up the fundamental skills needed to play modified games when they get to the 3rd – 5th grades. You can purchase my Station Signs at the bottom of this post if you’re interested (see a few examples of the signs below)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9AAbsxBTI3/
More Basketball Resources
If you want to check out our Basketball Resources you can see an overview of them in the videos below. Each resource is available to all teachers in our membership program (info on our membership here), just login and download them straight from the membership area. They are also available in our Teachers Pay Teachers Store for anyone who isn’t a member.
Basketball Unit Resource Pack
The Unit Resource Pack will provide you with a ton of printable resources to plan an AMAZING basketball unit.
Included in this download:
- Sample Unit Plan with 50 pages of activities
- Printable Station Activity Signs
- Basketball Cues Poster
- Create Your Own Basketball Routine Worksheet
- Basketball Tricks Checklist
- Player of the Day Certificate
- Basketball Golf Scorecard
Check out the Basketball Unit Resource Pack (TPT)
Basketball Follow the Leader Pack
All of our follow the leader packs are a “technology upgrade” for anyone with a screen that goes along perfectly with the Unit Resource Packs.
Included in this download:
- 3 Follow the Leader Videos (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced)
- Animated GIF Looping Videos
- Powerpoint Slideshows with all Animated GIFS
- Create Your Own Ball Handling Routine Worksheet
- Basketball Trick Checklist
Check out the Basketball Follow the Leader Pack (TPT)
Have Fun and Teach On!
Giittinger, Carter says
I like how you started with telling the kids that you always need to start with the basics of any sport before going straight into it. The globe trotters was a fun video to watch for starters, and it being right around the time of March madness is a good idea with all the kids minds on basketball.
Marcus says
Thanks for the kind words Carter!
Glad you’re enjoying the resources!
Deb says
Do I still need to pay for station cards at TPT if I’m a member?
Marcus says
As a member you get access to everything we’ve ever created in the membership.
You can get all of the E-books, Unit Plans, Activity Guides, Videos and Trainings (and ever single other resources we’ve ever created) inside the membership area.
You can check out the page below for a walkthrough of how to sign in and get into the members section on the site:
https://membership.thepespecialist.com/start-here/
Once you get logged in you can go here (our Members Home Page): https://membership.thepespecialist.com/
We also created a Table of Contents for the Membership with a link to EVERY RESOURCE! You can find it below:
https://membership.thepespecialist.com/table-of-contents/
The basketball station cards are at the link below (must be logged in):
Basketball Member Resource
Hope this helps!
Brandtin Holscher says
Love the way you introduce basketball and ball handling! What do you do for KG and 1st?
Marcus says
Hey Brandtin,
Depending on the class, we can do some ball handling tricks with them. But for most classes, we just introduce striking the ball with control. Then being able to move and dribble with control.
You can check out some Basketball Resource Pack with cues and posters for K and 1st linked below:
https://www.thepespecialist.com/cuestest/
Hope this helps!
Chris Kalbfleisch says
Thank-you! Great videos, and very helpful! Keep it up.
Chris,
Teacher on Vancouver Island
Ben Landers says
Glad to hear that – will do!
Lisette says
Hi from Canada Ben,
Love your website and I’ve used many of your ideas for my pe classes. I’ve just gotten an instant replay app on my ipad. Do you have suggestions for basketball activities I could do with the app for my grades 1-2?
Ben Landers says
Have them practice any of the skills and then self assess by watching the replay to see if they are using the correct cues for the skill performed (Dribbling, Passing or Shooting)
Claire says
You are such a rock star! Thank you for the breath of fresh air and inspiring this PE teacher to start videoing my own lessons to improve! Keep up the good work!
Ben Landers says
🙂 Appreciate the kind words – watching yourself back on video will help you get better for sure! Thanks!
Catherine says
Hi there – like your site and ideas. Tried the slaps, flops, flips, etc today and the kids loved it!
You mention footwork drills? Where do I find those, please? How long will you cover this unit? About 4 weeks?
Additionally, I would like some clarification about how you organize your lessons. Is the order you use:
warmup – review previous skills
drill – learn new skills
game – follow the leader – actions based on review and new skills?
cool down
Thank you.
Ben Landers says
Hey Catherine! Glad it was helpful, I haven’t published the footwork drills other than in my membership, but you can think about the basics of footwork with a soccer ball or google it for some ideas (quick taps, insides, rolling and trapping etc).
The lesson order changes depending on the content, but for this one I usually do
Warmup – Intro or Review Previous skills – Follow The Leader – Game – New Skill or more modified gameplay – Closure
We do basketball for 3-4 weeks depending on time available, usually 3
PoorPETeacher says
What if you only have 5-6 basketballs for around 20 kids? Do you have any basketball drill suggestions?
Ben Landers says
A few ideas: Use playground balls instead, set it up as a station activity, ask kids to bring balls from home, get a sports store to donate some, ask your admin for more funding, write a donors choose grant
manooy says
I like sports
Robin says
“Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat.