One aspect of dramatic play that is supremely effective in developing social skills and language is role play. Offer children the chance to coach each other, taking turns in different roles on the basketball court. One may be the coach, another the referee. Set up a problem: There are five minutes left in the game, the teams are tied and someone must make a basket soon. How the coaches motivate their players and deal with defeat will help children to navigate a range of mental and emotional puzzles.
Dramatic play activities are heralded for promoting physical fitness and confidence. Use basketballs and the basketball court to devise games children can play to get them moving. The balls may represent food or money; the children may be animals in a forest who must gather the food and return it to their respective homes. Use a whistle and time the play to short segments, then rearrange teams, add or remove balls, or move bases closer or farther apart.
Dramatic play that requires children to work together is a proven method of teaching teamwork and honing social skills. Games on the basketball court may involve making a low basket without anyone moving her feet. To begin this type of game, have children run around the court, then shout "freeze" and tell them their feet have frozen to the ground, but they still have to play basketball. Those closest to the basket, which must be lowered prior to the game, will be shooters, and other players must pass the ball to each other, while avoiding the opposing team's arms. Allow children to tinker with the imaginative aspects of this game. They may imagine they are in a frozen river, or that they are on their own ice patches, unable to move closer to one another. Imagine, perhaps, that the basket is a fire and the balls are the wood, then keep the fire going by tossing in as much wood as possible by using teamwork.
By simulating limitations for some children, and assigning them partners, you can inspire kids to work together in the spirit of helping. In each pair, one player might be blindfolded, or have one arm behind his back, or have to walk only on all fours. The other teammates must guide their partners to achieve a goal, such as making a basket or navigating from one end of the court to the other. Reverse roles and repeat the game, so everyone has a chance to work creatively to solve problems together on the basketball court.