El Caliche: Knock It Down, Win the Caps

A traditional throwing game: knock down the caliche, a standing tube with bottle caps on top, by tossing a disc from a distance, and win the caps that land closer to your disc than to the caliche. Students work on accuracy, judging distances, and decision-making.

How to play

1. Chalk 5 courts: a 3 ft circle with the caliche (a cardboard tube standing up) in the middle and a throwing line 16 ft away. Stack 3 bottle caps on the caliche (3 min).
2. Groups of 5, each player with a beanbag as their disc. Explain the key rule: after a knockdown, each cap goes to the thrower if it lies closer to their beanbag than to the caliche (2 min).
3. Taking turns, each player tosses underhand; they can try to knock it down or leave the beanbag close for the next throw (1 min per round).
4. When someone knocks it down, check distances with heel-to-toe steps or a string and the thrower keeps the caps won; reset 3 caps and keep playing (12 min).
5. Rotate courts every 6 minutes; at the end, count caps and return them (4 min).

Rules

• Throw underhand with feet behind the line.
• Nobody enters the court until everyone in the turn has thrown.
• If a distance is unclear, the group decides by measuring heel-to-toe.
• Safety: wait behind the thrower, never beside the court.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the student throws seated from a 10 ft line.
• Visual impairment: a partner claps next to the caliche to guide the throw.
• Students with autism: use a card with the distance rule drawn on it.

Learning goals

• Adjust throwing force and direction.
• Compare distances to decide who wins each cap.
• Learn a traditional disc-tossing game.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cardboard tubes: 5
• bottle caps: 40
• beanbags: 25
• chalk: 5

Teacher tip

Measuring causes arguments, so agree beforehand that heel-to-toe steps settle it. Weigh the tubes down with a little sand so wind doesn't topple them.

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