Ball Handling Skills / Basketball

Physical Education Lesson Plan

S: PE
T: Ball Handling Skills / Basketball
O: K: To practice and improve bouncing and catching a ball.
1st: To practice and improve ball handling skills.
P: Teacher explanation and demonstration.

Students will each have their own playground ball or small basketball.

• Can you raise the ball a full arm’s length overhead, drop the ball, and count how many times you can run around the ball before it stops bouncing?
• Can you throw the ball into the air and catch it before it hits the ground? Did you have to move to catch it? Why? (Discuss the importance of throwing the ball straight up. What happens when you throw it up forward? backward? sideways?)
• Can you throw the ball straight up into the air and catch it without moving your feet?
• Now that you are getting better at throwing the ball straight into the air, how many times can you clap your hands before catching the ball?
• This time, can you throw the ball into the air and let it bounce one time before you catch it? Did you have to move your feet to catch it? Why?
• Listen very carefully to this next challenge. Can you throw the ball into the air, and then when it lands and bounces in front of you, spin all the way around and catch it? (Stress watching the ball hit the floor before the child spins around.)
• From a standing position with the feet spread, how large an area can you cover while rolling the ball around the outside of your feet? (Stress transferring weight from one leg to another in order to make a wider circle.)
• From your standing position with feet spread, can you make a “figure 8” while rolling the ball around and between your spread feet?
• Can you bounce the ball against the wall and catch it on the first bounce? (Stress starting off close to the wall and moving back as the students become more skilled.)
• Can you bounce the ball off the wall and catch it before it hits the floor?
• Can you keep the ball bouncing while using two hands?
• Now, can you keep the ball bouncing while using one hand? (Discuss the mechanics of dribbling – using fingertips, pushing the ball rather than hitting it, using the wrist, etc.)
• Can you bounce the ball with the other hand?
• Can you keep the ball bouncing while alternating your hands?
• Can you walk around the ball while dribbling with your right hand? How about the left hand?