--- title: "Around the World" description: "Players take turns shooting a basketball from numbered spots around the key, advancing on made shots and rebounding for the next player after a miss. Turns continue until a player completes the five-spot circuit or time runs out." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/around-the-world/" --- # Around the World Players take turns shooting a basketball from numbered spots around the key, advancing on made shots and rebounding for the next player after a miss. Turns continue until a player completes the five-spot circuit or time runs out. **Time:** 12 minutes. Playworks source specifies under 10 minutes; structured here as a 12-minute block including setup rules and cool-down debrief. **People:** 4 to 16. Single queue at one hoop for up to 8 players; split into two parallel queues across two hoops for 9 to 16 players. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Practice sequential basketball shooting, rebounding, and turn rotation around marked court positions. **Use it when:** Use in physical education classes, sports camps, or youth recreation sessions to build basic shooting accuracy and cooperative turn habits. **Skip it when:** Skip when a basketball hoop and ball are unavailable, or during seated meeting settings where physical ball sports are impractical. ## Materials and tools - 1 basketball per hoop (up to 2 total) - 5 flat floor markers or chalk marks per hoop - 1 to 2 regulation or youth basketball hoops - 1 piece of scrap paper and pencil per hoop to track stations ## Before participants arrive 1. Mark 5 numbered spots in an arc around the basketball key, running from the right baseline around the free-throw line to the left baseline. 2. Mark a waiting line 5 feet behind spot 1 so players in the queue stay clear of rebounds. 3. Place 1 basketball at spot 1. 4. If running two groups, repeat the markings at a second basket. ## Say this to open Welcome to Around the World. Your goal is to work through all five shooting spots around the key. When it is your turn, take a shot from your current spot. If you make it, advance to the next spot and shoot again, up to a maximum of three made shots in one turn. If you miss, or once you reach three makes, catch the ball, pass it to the next person behind the safety line, and head to the end of the line. When you return to the front, pick up where you left off. ## How to run it ### 1. Demonstrate the rules and safety line (2 minutes) Gather players behind the safety line at spot 1. Demonstrate making a shot and moving to spot 2. Demonstrate missing a shot, retrieving the rebound, and passing cleanly to the next person waiting behind the safety line. State the three-make limit per turn so turns cycle briskly. Have one participant restate the sequence. ### 2. Run the perimeter circuit (5 minutes) Start the rotation. The first player shoots from spot 1. On a make, they step to spot 2 and shoot again, up to three makes per turn. On a miss or after three makes, that player catches the ball, passes to the next person, and queues at the rear. When players cycle back to the front, they shoot from their last incomplete spot. ### 3. Run reverse circuit or wrap-up rounds (3 minutes) If a player finishes spot 5, have them work backwards from spot 5 to spot 1. If no one has finished, call a two-minute warning and let each player take one final turn to reach their highest possible station. Stop play when time expires. ### 4. Debrief and court reset (2 minutes) Collect the basketballs and bring players together near the center court line. Ask two players to share how they adjusted their shot from different angles, and take one reflection on passing cleanly to keep the game moving. ## Debrief questions - What adjustment did you make to your shot when moving from the baseline to the top of the key? - How did passing the ball directly to the next person help your group get more turns? **Finished output:** Every player attempts the five-station perimeter sequence and records their furthest station reached. ## Remote Around the World requires a physical basketball court, hoop, and ball, so it cannot be run as an online group activity. For an online trivia alternative, run a geography relay where participants take turns naming capital cities around a digital world map. ## Hybrid Hybrid delivery is not practical because remote participants cannot share the physical court or shoot at the basket. If hybrid inclusion is required, assign remote participants active turn-logging or timekeeper duties while in-person participants shoot. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may shoot from a seated position, use an underhand technique, or step inside the perimeter marker. - Any participant may choose to act as a designated rebounder and passer without taking shooting turns. ## If the session gets stuck **Shooters lose track of which station they reached when their turn ends.** Use the scrap paper and pencil at the queue to jot down each player's active station number when they step back into line. **A confident shooter makes multiple shots in a row and holds the ball while the line waits.** Enforce the three-make cap. After three consecutive baskets, the shooter banks their progress, rebounds, and passes to the next player. ## Terms used here - Key: The marked rectangular or fan-shaped area on a basketball court directly between the free-throw line and the hoop. - Rebound: Catching or retrieving the basketball after a missed shot hits the rim, backboard, or floor. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in the Playworks game library under the title 'Around the World'. Retained the traditional Playworks basketball circuit mechanic: advance on makes, rebound and pass on misses, and resume from the missed station. Separated the unrelated ESL Active classroom map exercise found in earlier records. Added a safety distance line, a three-make limit per turn to ensure group equity, explicit step timings summing to 12 minutes, and a closing debrief step. [Playworks](https://www.playworks.org/game-library/around-the-world/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/around-the-world/