CogAT lessonsNonverbal Battery
CogAT paper folding
A square of paper is folded, then a hole is punched through it. Your child picks what the paper looks like opened out.
What your child sees
- 1. Fold in half
- 2. Punch a hole
- 3. Open it: two holes
Watch one fold
A fold works like a mirror. The punch goes through both layers, so opening the paper shows a second hole on the other side of the fold line, exactly as far from it as the first.
Two folds make four layers, so one punch makes four holes. Open them one fold at a time.
Grade 4, a question like this one
A square of paper is folded, and then a hole is punched through it. Which picture shows the paper when it is opened out?
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
Kindergarten to Grade 2, read aloud
A square of paper is folded in half, and then a piece is cut out. Which picture shows the paper when it is opened up?
- A
- B
- C
Show the answer and whyHide the answer
The cut goes through both layers of the folded paper.
When the paper is opened, the cut appears on both halves, the same distance from the fold.
A cut on the folded edge opens into one shape across the middle. A cut anywhere else opens into two.
Final answer
The paper with the cut on both halves.
Remember
The cut goes through both layers of the folded paper, so it shows on both halves when the paper is opened.
Up to Grade 2 the paper is folded and cut rather than punched, the directions are read aloud, and there are three pictures to choose from.
Worked example
The same question, one step at a time.
- 1Every hole goes through every layer of the folded paper.
- 2Open the folds one at a time, last fold first. Each fold works like a mirror: every hole gets a twin the same distance from the fold line on the other side.
- 3This paper was folded in half corner to corner, along the diagonal, so the holes become 4 holes in all.
- 4Final answer: the square with 4 holes, each mirrored across the fold line.
Common traps
Every wrong choice is built from a mistake children really make.
Forgetting to unfold
The paper as it looked when folded, with only the punched holes. Opening each fold adds a twin to every hole.
In the example: choice B.
The wrong mirror
Holes reflected across the wrong line. Find the dashed fold line first and mirror across that one.
In the example: choice D.
A hole in the wrong place
Each twin sits exactly as far from the fold as the hole it copies. One hole nudged sideways is the trap.
In the example: choice E.
Where it is on the test
Paper folding is one of the three parts of the Nonverbal Battery. Up to Grade 2 it is a picture version, read aloud with no time limit.
| Grade | Part | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten (Level 5/6) | Paper folding | 10 | No time limit |
| Grade 1 (Level 7) | Paper folding | 12 | No time limit |
| Grade 2 (Level 8) | Paper folding | 16 | No time limit |
| Grade 3 (Level 9) | Paper folding | 16 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 4 (Level 10) | Paper folding | 16 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 5 (Level 11) | Paper folding | 16 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 6 (Level 12) | Paper folding | 16 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 7 (Level 13/14) | Paper folding | 16 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 8 (Level 13/14) | Paper folding | 16 | 10 minutes |
Counts and times are Riverside Insights’ published figures.
Try it
Ten free Nonverbal Battery questions, new every time, with the score at the end. You will be asked to make a free account.
The other parts of the Nonverbal Battery
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