Basketball STEM Challenge Billie Jean Peet, Athlete Read Aloud Activity March

Bring science and sports together with this Billie Jean Peet, Athlete read-aloud STEM activity.

In this basketball STEM lesson for elementary students, kids use the scientific method to investigate how spinning a thaumatrope (basketball and hoop) changes what their eyes see.

Perfect for a reading + science integration, this low-prep activity turns a favorite picture book into a memorable motion and observation experiment.

What Students Do

• Read or listen to Billie Jean Peet, Athlete and discuss how Billie Jean tries new activities and learns through practice and persistence.
• Review the steps of the scientific method with kid-friendly posters: Purpose, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analysis, Conclusion.
• Make a prediction (hypothesis) about what will happen when they spin a two-sided picture of a basketball and hoop.
• Build a simple thaumatrope using the provided circle templates, straw, crayons, scissors, and glue.
• Spin the thaumatrope and record observations in a science journal—do they still see two pictures, or does it look like the ball is going through the hoop?
• Analyze their results, decide whether their hypothesis was correct, and write a conclusion explaining how spinning affected what their eyes saw.
• Reflect on themselves as scientists using a thumbs-up self-assessment about hypotheses, experiments, and collaboration.

What’s Included

• Teacher instructions explaining the scientific method, how to set students up for productive struggle, and step-by-step directions for the thaumatrope experiment.
• Full-color and blackline Scientific Method posters and simplified anchor charts for Purpose, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analysis, and Conclusion.
• Printable thaumatrope templates (basketball on one side, hoop on the other) plus photo samples of completed projects.
• Foldable Science Journal pages that walk students through each step: writing a hypothesis, recording research notes, sketching observations, and writing a conclusion.
• “What is a Thaumatrope?” explanation page that breaks down how our eyes and brain blend the two images when they spin.
• Student reflection sheet with thumbs-up icons so students can self-evaluate their work as scientists.
• Link to Canva lesson slides to support whole-group instruction.

Use this Billie Jean Peet, Athlete STEM lesson as a stand-alone science investigation, a read-aloud extension, or part of a larger sports or motion unit to help students think like scientists while having fun with basketball.

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