The examiner has two oblong cards—postcards do very well—one of which is cut in two pieces along the diagonal. Before giving the direction to the child, he places the intact card on the table, and, nearer the child, the two pieces of the other card arranged so that the two hypotenuses form a right angle.[A]
Six Years.
1. "Is it morning or afternoon now?"
As many little children tend simply to repeat the examiner's last words, it is better to reverse the terms "morning" and "afternoon" when the examination takes place in the afternoon.
2. "What is a fork?"—What is a table?"—"A chair?"—"A horse?"—A mamma?"
Three levels of intelligence may be distinguished in the responses. The lowest is that of silence, or repetition of the term, or designation by gesture. The second, which should be attained at the age of six, is that of definition by use, as: "A fork is for eating with." The third level is attained by the ninth year; the child at this level attempts to describe the object or to say what it is made of. The type of the majority of the definitions determines one's judgment of the level attained.
3. "Copy this picture for me."
The examiner shows the child a card on which is drawn a diamond, of which the side measures an inch and a half, and the acute angles 60 degrees. The drawing must be done with pen and ink.
4. "Count these pennies."
Thirteen pennies are placed on the table in a group (not in a line) touching one another, but not superposed.