The Game of

Basketball

By: KristenMorey

Good readers determine importance by noticing text features such as pictures, headings, subheadings, captions, timelines, diagrams, bold words, and font sizes.

Table of Contents

• The Beginning of Basketball – 3• Basketball Timeline – 4 & 5• Back to Basics - 6• Court Lines and Markings – 7• Team Size – 8• The Ball – 9• The Basketball Hall of Fame – 10• Glossary – 11 - 13• References - 14

Encourage students to view the Table of Contents to help them determine important ideas they will be reading about.

The Beginning of Basketball…

The first game of basketball was played in Springfield, MA at a YMCA with 18 players.

Basketball is now played by over 300 million people around the world!

The sport of basketball began when Dr. James Naismith was asked to create an indoor game, which could be played during the cold New England winter. Dr. Luther Gulick, head of Physical Education at the School for Christian Workers, gave Dr. Naismith 14 days to invent a sport which would distract a rowdy class from causing trouble when it was too cold to go outside. Dr. Naismith at first tried to organize outdoor sports like lacrosse and soccer to be played indoors. He finally designed 13 original rules to make a game he referred to as basket ball.

Students should highlight or mark important ideas with sticky notes. The heading, bold word (distract), captions, and pictures should be determined important.

Basketball Timeline

• March 22, 1893: Smith College in Massachusetts becomes the first women's school to play basket ball. Men are not allowed to watch the games.

• 1895: The field goal value is changed from three points to two points. The free throw value is changed from three points to one point.

• 1896: The first known professional basketball game is played in Trenton, New Jersey.

• 1921: The spelling of basket ball becomes basketball.

• February 25, 1924: Marie Boyd scores 156 points for Lonaconing Central (Maryland) in a 162-3 victory over Cumberland Ursuline Academy (Maryland). This is a national record for girls.

•December 1891: Dr James Naismith, an instructor at the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts, invents basket ball (then two words). Good readers pay attention

to text features such as larger font size.

Basketball Timeline (continued)

• 1978-79: The NBA Adds a third referee.• 1979: The NBA adopts a three point line.• October 12, 1979: Celtics guard Chris Ford hits the NBA's first three pointer.

• June 6, 1946: The Basketball Association of America (BAA) is founded. Maurice Podoloff is named the league president.• August 3, 1949: Six teams from the NBL join the BAA. the resulting 17 teams form the National Basketball Association (NBA). and name Maurice Podloff as President.

•1951: A crowd of 75,000 people, a record for a basketball game, watch the Harlem Globetrotters perform at Berlin Olympic Stadium.

•April 24, 1996: The NBA Agrees to start a Women’s Nation Basketball Association (WNBA).

Ask students to give examples of important ideas and interesting details on this page. Readers should explain their thinking.

Back to Basics

A peach basket was used as the original basketball hoop.

1. Three fouls resulted in a goal for the opponents.

2. There were two fifteen minute halves, with a five minute halftime.

3. A player could not run with the ball, but may be allowed a few steps if he/ she caught the ball while running.

4. A goal was made when the ball went into the basket and stayed there.

5. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist.

Some of the Original Rules:

The teacher should explain that subheadings provide insight into important ideas.

Students should be encouraged to find/ mark the caption on this page.

Court Lines and Markings1. Sidelines – run the lengths of the

court. They are normally 50 feet apart.

2. Baselines/ Endlines – run from sideline to sideline about 4 feet behind the basket.

3. Midcourt line – divides the court in half.

4. Three point line – field goals made behind this line count as 3 points.

5. Free throw line – 15 feet away from the backboard. This is the boundary line when shooting free throws. The shooter cannot step on or past this line when shooting free throws.

6. Free throw circle – The free throw shooter must remain in this area when shooting free throws.

7. Lane lines – boundaries which run from the free throw line to the baseline.

8. Center circle – 12 feet in diameter. This is found in the center of the court and used to start the game.

Students should pay close attention to the picture and discuss the importance of this text feature.

Team Size

When basketball was first played, there was no set rule on the number of players. It was believed that any number of players (even 50!) could play the game at one time. However, this did not work out. Early games were mainly played by nine players on each side, because 18 students usually came to Naismith’s class. In 1897, it became a rule that five players should play on each team.

The five basic positions for players on offense are:

1 = Point Guard

2 = Shooting Guard

3 = Small Forward

4 = Power Forward

5 = Post or Center

Ask students to notice the heading on this page before reading and discuss how this helps to determine importance. Students might discuss why the author used a diagram on this page.

The Ball

Soccer balls were used to play the first basketball games. But players found these balls very difficult to dribble. In 1894, the first basketballs were made by a company that created basketballs. Spalding became the official ball maker in the 1890s.  Over the years, improvements have been made to the basketball, such as creating them to be bouncier, lighter, and easier to handle.

Men’s ball = 30 inches in circumference.

Women’s ball = 29 inches in circumference.

Students mark the heading, captions, and pictures as important information. Details in the paragraph may be listed as interested.

The Basketball Hall of Fame

The Basketball Hall of Fame first opened on February 17, 1968 on the campus of Springfield College. The doors opened to the public, just one month after the first-ever regular season game was shown on television to millions of people. The Basketball Hall of Fame was expanded, and eventually moved to a spectacular brand new building. Today, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is over 40,000 square feet large and honors almost three hundred basketball stars. The Hall of Fame includes shooting contests and hundreds of displays. Sports fans all over the world visit the Hall of Fame to celebrate the history and well-loved game of basketball. Good readers look to the first and last sentences of a paragraph

to learn the most important ideas. The heading and picture may help students to determine importance on this page.

Glossary

1

3

4 5 2Term

Reminding Word

LINCing Story LINCing Picture Definition

distract

track

I will stay on track

and not go off my

course. Nothing will

distract me from

finishing my work.

To draw away or

divert, as the

mind or attention.

The purpose of a glossary should be discussed and students should learn that bold words may be found in a glossary. Glossaries help us to understand the meanings of words by providing definitions and more information about a vocabulary word.

Glossary

instill

1

3

4 5 2Term

Reminding Word

LINCing Story LINCing Picture Definition

instructorAn instructor instills

lessons to help

children learn.

A person who

instructs,

teacher.

Glossary

circle

1

3

4 5 2Term

Reminding Word

LINCing Story LINCing Picture Definition

circumferenceWe walked all the

way around the circle

garden to measure

the circumference.

The outer

boundary of a

circular area.

References

1. The Ultimate Youth Basketball Guide For Players, Parents & Coaches. Retrieved 4/5/2010 from: http://www.ultimate-youth-basketball-guide.com/index.html

2. Hooptactics: The World’s Most In-Depth Look Into Proven Basketball Strategies. Retrieved 4/5/2010 from: http://www.hooptactics.wildapricot.org/Basketball_Basics_History

3. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 4/5/2010 from: http://www.hoophall.com/about-the-hall/

4. Dictionary.com – An Ask.com Service. Retrieved 4/5/2010 from: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/

Good readers turn to the author’s References when they would like more information about a topic.