Are you ready to update your lesson plan for teaching basketball to your students? Look no further than this blog post! We've made some exciting updates to the lesson plan, including the option for students to choose federation as their team and some helpful diagrams to make the lesson even clearer. But that's not all - we will explore the potential of our government's basketball game with other sports like soccer, kickball, baseball, and football to see if the concept works across the board. I already have a lesson plan for government hockey, which serves as a great introduction to team hockey by limiting defensive pressure and ensuring more players have the opportunity to score. The government's basketball lesson plan has now been updated on our website. Still, to ensure everyone who previously purchased the lesson has access to the latest version, we're providing it here for free. Stay tuned for updates on how the game works with other sports!
Government Basketball
Montessori Physical Education
Introduction:
My students love basketball more than any other sport we play. They have become avid students of the game, and even during recess, they play by the official rules. They demand fair play out of each other because they want the game to be as fun as possible. This demand for fair play is one of the reasons Government Basketball is so dynamic. Each team plays with different scoring rules representing the government's style. Students will realize that they will have to change their tactics based on the strengths of the government they are playing as, as well as identify the other team's strengths and plan their defense accordingly.
It is one thing to explain how governments are different from each other versus playing a game that demonstrates different styles of government by utilizing different scoring systems. This game is open-ended and does not emphasize one government system over another. Each has its strengths, weaknesses, and strategies for playing against them. This game is excellent to repeat for several weeks because the tenets of the game can be applied to almost any team sport you can think of: soccer, hockey, kickball, etc. Once you play the game, you can also introduce and incorporate different economic systems. If a team can successfully perform the objective of that economic system, they get a point boost at the end of the game.
Your students will love this versatile game, and you will love it because it can be played more than once. This means you can save time in the coming weeks because it will require less explanation the second and third time around. This will help cement the differences in the government systems for your students as they play the same concept weekly. However, you can keep the game fresh by changing each week's sport.
Materials:
· One to two basketballs
· One coin
· At least one basketball hoop, but two works the best for full-court play
o I have the luxury of having four basketball hoops, so I had my students play two half-court games
· A large playing area (preferably a gym or, if outside, an asphalt or concrete parking lot)
· Optional - Scoreboard (analog or digital)
· Stopwatch or phone with a clock
Minimum Number of Students Needed: You could play this game with as few as six students (3 V 3), but ideally, you would want at least ten students for two teams. If your class has twenty students, split the playing area in half so that two games can be played simultaneously.
Prior Knowledge: This lesson is the perfect introduction to different government systems.
Presentation
· Depending on the number of students in the lesson, divide the students into at least two even teams based on basketball playing ability.
o If you have a huge class, you could make four teams and play a round-robin style tournament where each team plays the other teams once.
· The students will be playing basketball with a government type. When you play this game for the next PE class, you can introduce the economic systems, too. The government type could be selected randomly, or you could have them choose their government. Each team should be a different type of government; no repeats. This will encourage variety and allow the students to see and experience the differences between the government types.
· Once a team has selected their government type for the next week, they can choose their economic style. The reward for a team successfully achieving their economic style objective at the end of the game is a ten-point bonus. Two teams cannot have the same government style, but they can choose the same economic styles.
· Here are the government types:
o Autocracy: The team chooses a leader (dictator), or sometimes a player demands to be the leader. If the group gives in to this demand, we have an authentic way for dictators to come to power. Sometimes, though, the group will decide who the dictator is without negotiation. It is worth ten points when the leader scores a basket (including a free throw). Any other player's basket is worth 1 point. If the ruler needs a substitution, they must nominate a new ruler.
§ If the team wants to depose a dictator, everyone on the team must approve. The player cannot be the leader again.
§ Leaders who want to "retire" can appoint a successor, like a monarchy or a dynasty. An old dictator cannot become one again if they "retired."
o Oligarchy: The two oldest players on the team become the oligarchs. When an oligarch scores a basket (including a free throw), it is worth five points. When any other player scores a basket, it is worth one point. There must be at least one oligarch on the court at all times, and both can play simultaneously. A new oligarch can be chosen to replace an old oligarch, but both old oligarchs must agree. An old oligarch cannot become one again if they "retired."
o (Con)Federation: In this government, the students decide how to divide thirteen points between the players for their scoring potential. For example, if your team has five players, they may split the thirteen total, like 3, 3, 4, 2, 1.
§ If the team cannot reach a consensus on how to split the thirteen points promptly, they score two points each.
· This is not good because they have lost point potential as a group, but it does make it “fair” between the player nation-states.
o Republic: The team votes for two players to become senators. A senator scoring a basket (including a free throw) is worth four points. When any other player scores a basket, it is worth two points. Everyone votes on which two players should become the new senators in each game. The senators may also vote, and the old senators may win by reelection.
§ If there is a tie in the vote, the instructor will be the tie-breaker.
o Democracy: Any player scoring a basket (including a free throw) is worth three points.
o Anarchy: When any player scores a basket (including a free throw), the teacher/referee flips a coin. If heads, that is one point, and the teacher flips again. If tails, then stop. This means a basket can be worth nothing if tails is flipped first. However, there is the (unlikely) chance that a team could get a twenty-point basket (or more).
· Here are the economic styles:
o Capitalistic: one player scores more baskets than all other players on their team.
o Communistic: All the players score the same amount of baskets
o Socialistic: Every player on the team scores at least one basket
§ Remember, baskets and points are not the same. The points a basket is worth depends on the player's role in their government.
· If a player is fouled in the act of shooting, they get one free throw. That free throw is worth the number of points of their role within their government.
o If the shot goes in, there is no “and one.”
· Two non-shooting fouls in a row committed by the defense result in a free throw. The team that was fouled twice gets to choose who shoots it.
· If you have two simultaneous games happening simultaneously, you must let the students referee themselves to a degree. The students call when they are fouled.
o I preemptively tell the students that they want to be accurate with their foul calls. If a team feels that a player from the other team is calling everything, they will call every foul in turn, slowing the game and making it less fun. However, if someone is legitimately fouled in the act of shooting, they should get the foul shot.
· How long games last depends on the number of students (which affects the number of games) and the amount of time you have for your PE class. Typically, fifteen-minute games work well when you have two even teams because this will allow three games in an hour or two for a forty-minute timespan. Once one game is over, have the teams select new government types to play in the next game.
· Playing three ten-minute games works well if you have a super large group. However, the teams should not switch the type of government from game to game. You can record the winners of each game to see which style of government prevails that day.
· After you play, you can have rich discussions reflecting upon how the scoring mechanisms reflect the power distribution of each government. Each style of government has strengths and weaknesses. The more centralized, the quicker decisions are made and the more powerful the leader is, but it comes at the expense of the citizen's power and input. Distributing power more equally gets more buy-in and participation from all citizens, but a lack of central authority can slow down decisions that need to be put up for a vote. These strengths and weaknesses are reflected in the game by the power (scoring potential) of the player's roles within the government. The dictator can score ten-point baskets, making each one of their baskets incredibly powerful. It only takes a few baskets from a dictator to win a basketball game. However, because the power is centralized in one player, the defense should triple or quadruple team this player, doing everything they can to prevent this player from being effective. Initially, your students may not recognize how to alter defensive strategy, but if you play this game week after week utilizing different sports, your students will realize how to adapt their strategy.
Aims:
Direct: To reinforce concepts on government types and styles
Indirect:
Listening and following directions
Teamwork
Communication
Strategy
Sportsmanship
Physical skills practiced:
· Dribbling, passing, and shooting a basketball
· Running
· Basic defensive basketball movements and positioning
Control Of Error:
The scoreboard will be used to keep track of the score. The instructor will also act as a referee and scorekeeper. The teacher should keep time with a watch or phone if the scoreboard is analog.
Points of Interest:
Here are some tips for each government style:
Autocracy: Obviously, you want the dictator taking the most shots because they are worth the most. If your dictator gets three baskets, that’s thirty points! If you are playing against an autocracy, double or triple team that player, so they have to pass the ball and can't shoot. Guarding the dictator with everyone is very effective because even if the other players score, it is only worth one point. You will probably win the game if your team only allows one-point baskets. This resembles how governments with strong authoritarianism crumble when the commander retires, is deposed, or is assassinated.
Oligarchy: Similar to autocracy, you want oligarchs to shoot the most. Since there are two of them, it becomes harder to stop both. Five-point baskets are the second-highest scoring points in the game. Therefore, each oligarch should be heavily guarded. It is ok if the other players score because they are only worth one point.
(Con)federation: This style of government is the most variable and can look like almost any other type of government within the game based on how the students decide to distribute the point potential among themselves. Usually, the states within a federation are looking to be on equal footing, but it is safe to say that they may also recognize the strengths of one state over the others.
Republic: Many students say the republic may be the best government style because you get the enhanced point scoring of the senators, and they are not chosen arbitrarily but by the team. All this and the civilians still score more than a point. This team is played similarly to the Oligarchy. Still, this government type is slightly more complicated to defend against because the civilians score two-pointers.
Democracy: If this team has more than one good player, then this is very hard to play against because any basket is worth a three. This style works best with good teamwork. This team can be challenging to defend if they are playing good team basketball. However, if one player becomes a ball hog, this style's advantage can be thrown off.
Anarchy: Luck can be your best friend or your best defender.
Capitalism: The least fair but most effortless economic style to achieve. Let your best players do most of the scoring, and your team will get the bonus. However, many players will get no shots or baskets. Suppose we are comparing shots and baskets to money and resources. In that case, we can see why capitalism is popular (especially among the rich) but also heavily criticized for its inequity.
Communism: The fairest and most challenging economic style to achieve. Ensuring everyone gets the same means ultimate fairness, but lots of time and effort will be spent trying to get players who have not scored a chance to score. If they cannot score, that holds back the whole team because other players should not score a second basket until everyone has one basket. Then, when everyone has scored, the best players score their second basket but need to wait until everyone gets their second. This essentially handcuffs your players who could score many points for your team. I have never seen a team complete the objective of communism in any of the games I have witnessed.
Socialism: This style is fairer than capitalism but not as tricky as communism (but still challenging). Ensuring everyone gets a basket means everyone gets at least something, allowing better players to score more points. However, it can still be challenging to get those not-so-skilled players the chance to score.
Age: Upper Elementary and Middle School
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