Learner worksheet
Name: ____ Date: ______
Use the FIBA 2026 lesson basis. This is a learning exercise, not a qualification in officiating.
Learning objectives
- Identify the decisive fact in a possession dispute.
- Distinguish a violation, a personal foul and an incident requiring no whistle.
- Explain a decision and identify the next action.
- Use a rule reference to support or revise an answer.
For each scenario, record your decision, the decisive fact, the next action and an article reference. Work independently first, then compare with a partner. Do not assume facts that the scenario does not give.
All incidents occur during ordinary first-quarter play. Unless stated otherwise, there are no other infringements or pending penalties. For foul questions, the referee has classified the contact as an ordinary personal foul. You are deciding its consequence, not whether it belongs to a more serious foul category.
Eight decisions
1. Deflected pass. A1 passes towards A2. B1 touches the ball with a fingertip; it then lands outside the sideline without touching anyone else. The referee clearly sees B1’s touch. Which team receives the ball, and why?
2. Shared grip. A2 and B2 both grip the ball firmly. Neither can take it away without rough pulling. The referee stops play for a held ball. The alternating-possession arrow favours B. What happens next?
3. Starting again. A3 dribbles, stops and holds the ball in both hands. Without shooting, passing, losing control or anyone else touching the ball, A3 starts another dribble. Decide the incident and restart.
4. Unexpected bounce. A4’s pass accidentally hits B4’s stationary shin and rebounds to A5, who catches it inbounds. B4 made no deliberate movement to touch or block the ball. Should the referee whistle solely for the shin contact?
5. Defensive contact. B5 makes an ordinary personal foul while trying to take the ball from A5, who is dribbling and not shooting. This is B’s second team foul of the quarter. What should follow?
6. Changed foul count. Consider the same incident as question 5, except B already had four team fouls before this foul. What should follow now? Identify the fact that changes your decision.
7. Missed shot. A1 is clearly in the act of shooting a two-point shot in the frontcourt. B1 makes an ordinary personal foul on A1’s shooting arm. The shot misses. What is the penalty?
8. Offensive contact. A2 is dribbling and pushes B2 away with the free arm to create space. The referee calls an ordinary personal foul on A2. A already had four team fouls. Does B2 receive free throws, or does B receive a throw-in? Explain.
| Scenario | Decision | Decisive fact | Next action | Article |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ____________ | ____________ | ____________ | ________ |
| 2 | ____________ | ____________ | ____________ | ________ |
| 3 | ____________ | ____________ | ____________ | ________ |
| 4 | ____________ | ____________ | ____________ | ________ |
| 5 | ____________ | ____________ | ____________ | ________ |
| 6 | ____________ | ____________ | ____________ | ________ |
| 7 | ____________ | ____________ | ____________ | ________ |
| 8 | ____________ | ____________ | ____________ | ________ |
Worked examples — instructor reveal
Example A: control between players. Red 4 passes to Red 8; nobody else touches the pass. Who has team control during its flight? Red: passing between teammates preserves team control. Article 14.1.2.
Example B: a different ending. Blue 6 is fouled during a two-point shot, which goes in. Count two points and award one free throw. Article 34.2.2.
Read the situation aloud, pause for predictions, then reveal the decision. Ask learners to underline the fact that determined it. These examples are for teaching before the independent worksheet; keep this sheet separate from learner copies.
Answer key — distribute after completion
- A throw-in: B1 touched it last. Articles 23.2.1 and 22.2.
- B alternating-possession throw-in: the held ball invokes the arrow. Articles 12.4 and 12.6.1.
- Double dribble; B throw-in: no exception permits restarting. Articles 24.2 and 22.2.
- Play continues: accidental leg contact is not a violation. Article 13.2.
- Record B5’s foul; A throw-in: non-shooting foul below the team penalty. Article 34.2.1.
- Record B5’s foul; A5 takes two free throws: B was already in the team penalty. Article 42.1.1–42.2.1.
- Record B1’s foul; A1 takes two free throws: unsuccessful two-point shooting foul. Article 34.2.2.
- Record A2’s foul; B throw-in: team-control personal fouls do not earn bonus free throws. Articles 33.11 and 42.2.2.
Source for all answers: FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2026, v1.1.
Teacher notes: preparation and materials
Audience: secondary-school learners and adult beginners. No previous officiating experience is required. The educational audience is not a claim that every youth competition uses this rule set.
Materials: learner worksheet copies, separate answer sheets, pencils, a whiteboard, a paper possession arrow, team-foul counters and access to the cited rulebook. A basketball and floor markers are optional.
Preparation: read the cited articles; prepare the two worked examples for a controlled reveal; arrange pairs; and check that learner printouts contain only the three learner blocks. Keep the answer blocks out of the learner packet until discussion.
This lesson deliberately uses standard FIBA five-on-five rules. Before adapting it to a school league, age-group competition, mini-basketball, 3x3, NBA, WNBA or NCAA setting, obtain that competition’s applicable regulations and review every answer. Do not relabel this worksheet as covering those competitions.
Use tabletop demonstrations or slow, non-contact movement. Describe the foul scenarios rather than asking learners to push, pull or strike each other.
| Minutes | Activity | Teacher action |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5 | Opening discussion | Ask learners what information they would need before deciding who gets the ball. Introduce the lesson's competition scope. |
| 5–15 | Model two decisions | Use the worked-example answer block. Invite predictions before revealing each solution. Demonstrate the decision-record format. |
| 15–30 | Independent worksheet | Allow learners to consult the named rulebook articles. Ask for a reason, not just a team letter. |
| 30–38 | Pair comparison | Partners compare answers and circle disagreements. Each pair chooses one article to check together. |
| 38–46 | Cited feedback | Release the answer key. Ask learners to annotate corrections in a different colour and explain what changed their reasoning. |
| 46–50 | Exit reflection | Ask learners to name one decision they revised, identify the decisive fact and state one competition detail they would check before applying the lesson elsewhere. |
Teacher notes: assessment and follow-up
Award up to three marks per scenario: one for the decision, one for the decisive fact and one for the appropriate next action. Use article references as a separate evidence check. Treat equivalent plain-language explanations as acceptable; this is a reasoning exercise rather than a vocabulary test.
For learners needing support, read scenarios aloud, use coloured team cards and allow spoken answers. For extension, ask learners to rewrite one scenario by changing a single relevant fact, then exchange it with a partner. Check the revised solution against the rulebook before accepting it.
Use the Basketball overview for wider navigation. The existing Basketball Decision Quiz can provide later practice after its displayed rule basis has been checked against this lesson. This resource adds a teaching sequence and printable worksheet rather than replacing that quiz.
Editorial review: retain this as a draft. The supplied inventory is a shortlist; check the full inventory for an existing equivalent lesson before application.