Basketball According to 1-5

Today I taught Elementary School PE. I had to make up the lesson plan to start the basketball unit. The first and second graders came in ready to play and it was really fun teaching them how to maneuver a ball. I told them to "Hold their balls in their lap" and some of them had a hard time doing that so I told them if they couldn't "Hold their balls" that they would have to put their ball away and watch everyone else. I felt like the strictest teacher but I had to say that in order to get them to listen and stop bouncing all over. We sat down and they lined up on a line so they could learn to control their balls. After throwing the ball in the air three times and bouncing the balls I took them to the wall and they had to bounce their balls off the wall. Some of the kids were quite good at doing so but there were some that couldn't control their balls. We had to practice several times before they could catch their ball. Afterwards I lined them up and we did a dribbling relay. The kids really had a hard time bouncing their balls and walking when they did. I think they can do it with a little practice though. The really amazing part was when I showed them the proper form to shoot a basket. Wow. The kids who followed the directions all were able to shoot their balls into the basket. It was an awesome experience.



The third, fourth, and fifth graders had another lesson plan. I am thankful that I was given time in the morning to develop these plans or I would have been unprepared. I got some cones and basketballs out of the closet and made 8 stations around the room. Each station had a different learning goal. In one station the goal was to shoot baskets, in another students had to dribble the ball in figure 8's around the cones. In other stations students had to pass the ball using different methods. It looked like sheer chaos but all the kids were working to learn new skills. I would cup my hands around my mouth every few minutes and say, "Drop your balls and move to the next station." The kids did a pretty good job for the most part and I had to patiently give direction to students at other times. Yes. I love teaching elementary PE. I think I love the ordered chaos of that learning environment because the kids are having fun.