WEEK 27: HOOPIN SHOOTS!

All classes jump to the basketball shot in the second week of our basketball unit. Second through fifth grades will begin the day in groups of two and practice shooting "Very High" to each other. We will stop periodically and review incorrect form and the three basketball shooting cues. Students will also help instruct their partner if incorrect form exists. After the practice session, we will play "Make It, Take It". Students will take turns shooting baskets and every time one makes a basket, they get to shoot again. There is no defense, just a shooter and a rebounder, and students will keep score. After 5 to 10 minutes of this game, where we will alternate goals to avoid the sunny goal, we will divided into two teams and play a game. Each team will shoot non-stop at their goal and make as many shots as possible. I will keep score and after 3 or 4 minutes, we will switch goals and do it once again, the winning team will shoot from outside blue lines. Our last game, if time permits, will keep the same teams and between every shoot students must dribble to the center line and step on it before shooting again!

Kindergarten and first grades will start of similarly but no partner groups, they will have their own ball. More time is spent on incorrect form and getting away from tosses and throws and thinking about "Push"! Students will line up on a line and shoot one at a time quickly so I can evaluate each students shot. Students will get in groups of two and shoot back and forth then at the hoops, two of which are low roll out goals. Novice shooters will use these and experts will use the high goals, no mare than two groups at a goal. The last five minutes of class will be free shooting time.

WEEK 26: BASKETBALL BOUNCES IN!

To get back on track after a wild month or two, we started our basketball unit on Wednesday March 7 with day one on our schedule for 3rd through 5th grades. We will introduce and practice dribbling this week. We all had our own basketball for skill work this week. There were short talks on why dribbling is the most important skill, correct dribbling technique, and strategies to avoid defenders: looking up, dribbling low and the crossover dribble. We praticed these dribbles to music. Next we got in groups of two and played "Two Ball DribbleWar" where partners score points by tapping the partners ball while keeping theirs going. If double dribble occurs, a point can also be scored. Students keep their own points. Next we put a ball away and played "One Ball Dribble War" where one partner tries to steal the ball from the other. Students try to keep the ball in their possession as long as possible. At the end of class we had three to five minutes of free basketball and shooting. Here I evaluated the shooting form of students to prepare for next week, and helped a few! Second grade did much of the same thing but if a class had problems with dribbling we focused more on technique and less on strategy. Other games that were played in these scenarios include dribble races and "Lot od Balls Dribble War" where three students don't have a ball and try to steal the ball from other students. If a students ball is stolen then they have to steal from someone else. Take away more balls and it gets more interesting.

In Kindergarten through first grades dribbled too and used many of the same set up skills with more focus on technique and stopped frequently for tips and advice. We had dribble races and then instead of partnering fro games, we partnered to pass the basketball. We tried two ball passing with different types of passes and then worked one one ball passing, mainly the bounce pass. These students had five minutes of free basketball time at the end of class too!