Shooting contests are fun for kids and can boost confidence as well. Schedule a different type of shooting contest, such as free throw, three-point and half-court for different days of the week. Allow each student to shoot 15 times with no time limit. The student with the most successful shots wins and receives a small award such as a free soda or certificate.
Each pair of kids will race from one end of the court to the other end while dribbling with the right hand up the court and with the left hand back down the court to the finish line. Another race for middle schools students is a shooting race. Again, divide the class into pairs; the two kids race to one end of the court and shoot until they make either a two-point or a three-point shot. They then dribble to the other end and shoot, going back and forth between goals after a shot is made. The kid with the most number of points at the end of five minutes wins and plays the winners of the other pairs.
Set up stations on the court such as the jump-shot station, the rebounding station, and the dribble station while dividing the class into small groups. At the jump-shot station the students will have three minutes to practice a variety of jump-shots; at the rebound station the students will bounce the ball off the backboard while another rebounds; and at the dribbling station have the kids practice fast dribbling in a stance. After three minutes at each station, blow the whistle as the kids run to the next station on a specific rotation.
First teach the students a few simple plays, offensive and defensive, that they can use in their basketball games. Divide the class into groups of three and play half-court basketball, using both sides of the court for two different games. Either set a time limit, such as 30 minutes for each game, or the team to a certain number of points wins. The winning teams play each other as the losing teams play each other.