Who Knows What's in the Box?

A detective game about who knows what — and why. The big idea: you only know what’s in the box if you LOOKED. Someone who didn’t see doesn’t know. This “seeing-leads-to-knowing” insight (step 3 of the theory-of-mind ladder, usually grasped around 4–4½) is the bridge between simply taking another’s view and the harder idea that people can be wrong. Paired with a “what can Teddy see?” twist, it also stretches visual perspective-taking — realising the same thing looks different from another seat.

  1. Two toys, one secret. Hide a small object in an opaque box or bag. Let one toy “peek” inside; keep the other toy “away.” “Bunny looked inside — does Bunny KNOW what’s in here? Doggy didn’t look — does Doggy know?”
  2. “Who should we ASK?” “If we want to find out what’s in the box, who should we ask — the one who looked, or the one who didn’t?” This is the heart of seeing-leads-to-knowing.
  3. Flip it onto you. Cover your own eyes while the child hides something. “Do I know where it is? How could I find out?” The child gets to be the one who knows while you don’t.
  4. “Can Teddy see it?” (Level 1). Hold a picture card facing the child. “Can YOU see the dog? Can Teddy, sitting opposite, see the dog — or just the blank back?” Walk a toy behind a cushion: “Now can Teddy see it?”
  5. “How does it look to you?” (Level 2 — the stretch). Lay a clearly orientation-dependent picture (a person standing up, a big “6 / 9”) flat between you. “It looks right-way-up to me. How does it look to YOU, sitting there?” Praise reasoning about the difference, not just the answer.

Variation: Witness Game — “who saw it happen, so who can tell us?” Feely Bag — only the person whose hand is inside knows. Two-Seat Drawing — put a drawing on the table and talk about how it looks from each chair.

Requirements

  • Space: A table or floor; two facing seats for the perspective games
  • Surface: A flat surface for cards and the "turn-the-picture" game
  • Materials: An opaque box or bag, a few small objects, two soft toys, a couple of picture cards (one clearly orientation-dependent)
  • Participants: 1 adult + 1 child; the puppet games work for small groups
  • Supervision: Adult-led game

Rationale & Objective

Understanding that perception is the source of knowledge — that someone who looked knows, and someone who didn’t doesn’t — is step 3 of Wellman & Liu’s (2004) theory-of-mind scale, typically passed around 4–4½, and it is the conceptual bridge to false belief (“didn’t see → doesn’t know → can be wrong”). Pillow (1989) showed children can attribute knowledge by perceptual access surprisingly early, and that they can use it to decide whom to ask. The companion skill, visual perspective-taking, was mapped by Flavell and colleagues into two levels: Level 1 (whether something is visible to another person) is in place by age 3, while Level 2 (how something looks from another viewpoint) emerges around 4–5 and is the genuine challenge for a 5-year-old. Both skills sit at the centre of CASEL’s social-awareness competency. Honest framing — knowledge-access and Level-1 perspective-taking are usually easy for a 5-year-old and serve as confidence-builders and a bridge; Level-2 sits at the upper edge, so celebrate Level-1 wins and treat any Level-2 success as a bonus rather than a target.

Progress Indicators

  • Early: credits knowledge to both toys (or neither); answers “what’s in the box” from their own knowledge; says a picture looks the same to someone seated opposite
  • Developing: gets seeing-leads-to-knowing with a hint; nails Level-1 (“Teddy can’t see it”); notices a picture is “different for you” but can’t say how
  • Proficient: reliably reasons “she didn’t see it, so she doesn’t know — ask the one who looked”; on Level-2, says how it looks from the other seat (“upside-down to you”)
  • Advanced: links seeing → knowing → belief (“he didn’t see, so he might GUESS wrong”); mentally rotates (“if I sat there it’d look like a 9”)

Safety Notes

  • Keep “peeking” framed as detective fun, not sneaky or naughty behaviour
  • For a child who dislikes being watched or tested, frame it as a witness or detective game rather than a quiz
  • Don’t drill Level-2 if it frustrates — it sits at the top of the age range; celebrate Level-1 instead and come back later
  • No deception here, so it is low-risk — keep it light and curious

Hints

  • Playfulness: use a feely-bag and a big reveal; let the child be the all-knowing one who watches you guess wrong
  • Sustain interest: rotate the hidden objects and toys; tie it to real moments (“what can the driver see in the mirror that you can’t?”)
  • Common mistake: using a picture that looks the same from both sides (kills Level-2); sitting beside the child for the perspective game instead of opposite (no difference to notice)
  • Limited materials: play “I-spy with my eyes closed — do I know what you’re pointing at?”; use your two hands as the two witnesses
  • Cross-domain: language (see, know, look, find out, ask); early scientific reasoning (evidence, witnesses); spatial cognition and mental rotation (Level-2); executive function (suppressing your own view)
  • Progression: seeing-leads-to-knowing with toys → “who should we ask?” → Level-1 “can Teddy see it?” → Level-2 “how does it look to you?” → link to belief (“didn’t see, so might be wrong”)

Sources

  • Pillow, B. H. (1989). “Early understanding of perception as a source of knowledge.” Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 47(1), 116–129
  • Wellman, H. M. & Liu, D. (2004). “Scaling of theory-of-mind tasks.” Child Development, 75(2), 523–541
  • Flavell, J. H., Everett, B. A., Croft, K. & Flavell, E. R. (1981). “Young children’s knowledge about visual perception: Further evidence for the Level 1–Level 2 distinction.” Developmental Psychology, 17(1), 99–103
  • Moll, H. & Meltzoff, A. N. (2011). “How does it look? Level 2 perspective-taking at 36 months of age.” Child Development, 82(2), 661–673
  • Wellman, H. M., Cross, D. & Watson, J. (2001). “Meta-analysis of theory-of-mind development: The truth about false belief.” Child Development, 72(3), 655–684
  • CASEL — Social Awareness (perspective-taking)
  • UK EYFS — Understanding the World (observation of people and their roles) and PSED Self-Regulation ELG
  • Head Start ELOF — Approaches to Learning (reasoning); Social & Emotional (recognizes states in self and others)