Who's Missing? The Circle Opens Its Eyes

The group closes their eyes, someone hides behind a mat and the rest must work out who's missing. It builds attention to classmates and calm after effort.

How to play

1. The whole class stands in a big circle. Two mats stand against the wall as hiding spots (1 min).
2. Everyone closes their eyes and walks very slowly in place. The teacher taps one student's shoulder and they quietly hide behind a mat (1 min).
3. On the signal the circle opens their eyes, shifts one spot right to close the gap and guesses who's missing (2 min).
4. The hidden student walks back in slow motion and leads a gentle stretch the whole circle copies (2 min).
5. Last round with two students hidden at once (1 min).

Rules

• With eyes closed, nobody moves around; you only walk in place.
• The hider walks slowly to the mat, no running.
• Guess by name, never by physical features.

Variations

Adaptations

• Blind or visually impaired students: guess by listening as the circle says their names in order.
• Wheelchair users: hide behind the mat against the wall and roll back slowly.
• Students new to the group: everyone says their names out loud as the circle forms.

Learning goals

• Pay attention to others.
• Calm down with a familiar game.
• Learn and use everyone's names.

Equipment for a class of 25

• mats: 2

Teacher tip

Great early in the year for learning names. Pick the hider quickly so nobody gets tired of keeping their eyes shut.

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