Cardboard Tank Tread Races

Students tape opened cardboard boxes into a loop to make a tank tread, then crawl inside on hands and knees, rolling the cardboard forward like a tank track. It builds arm-leg coordination, staying on course, and teamwork.

How to play

1. Build it (5 min, groups of 4): flatten two or three large boxes, tape them into a strip about 8 feet long, and tape the ends together into a loop.
2. Free try (3 min): crawl inside on hands and knees with the strip over your back and move forward by pushing the cardboard ahead with your hands.
3. Straight track (4 min): take turns crawling to a cone 10 yards away and back; waiting students act as guides and call out if the tank drifts.
4. Double tank (4 min): two students share a 13-foot tread, moving their hands together to the leader's "one, two" count.
5. Relay (4 min): four teams, each with its own tread, run a course with a turn around a cone; the winner is the team whose tread finishes in one piece.

Rules

• Always crawl on hands and knees, never stand up inside.
• If the tread tears, stop, patch it with tape, and keep going.
• Guides give clear calls: "right," "left," "stop."
• Safety: lanes are 6 feet apart so tanks don't crash.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: acts as a guide or rolls a tread from the outside while seated.
• Visual impairment or autism: cut a front window in the tread and warn the student before it gets dark inside.
• Fitness level: may do half the course and tag a teammate at a middle cone.

Learning goals

• Coordinate arms and legs while crawling.
• Follow a partner's directions to stay on course.
• Build game equipment from reused cardboard as a team.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cardboard boxes: 18
• masking tape: 6
• cones: 12

Teacher tip

Appliance boxes are perfect. Pull out metal staples and tape every seam inside and out, because that is where treads tear.

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