Figural Analogies for Kids (Grades K–3)
Figural analogies for kids: shape pairs that change by one rule — size, color, rotation, or an added mark.
Understanding figural analogies
A figural analogy is an analogy built entirely from shapes. The top pair shows one shape changing into another — a small square becoming a big square, an outline circle filling in solid, a triangle turning a quarter-turn. The child studies that change, names it, and then makes the same change happen to a different shape in the bottom pair. The relationship is the whole puzzle; the specific shapes are just where it plays out.
Key Idea
Bridge Builder's first trail, the one linked here, stays with one clean change at a time: a color changes, a size grows or shrinks, the inside fills in or empties, or the number of shapes changes. Because only one thing changes, the reasoning stays visible. Its second trail adds turns, flips and one shape becoming another, and its third makes two changes at once. A child does not need to read to do these — they need to look, compare, and carry the change across. That makes figural analogies one of the earliest reasoning formats a young child can genuinely master.
These shape analogies are a staple of nonverbal screeners because they test reasoning without leaning on vocabulary or reading. The CogAT Nonverbal battery uses this A-is-to-B frame in its Figure Matrices items, which set an analogy out in a 2 by 2 grid, and the NNAT asks for the same kind of reasoning inside its figure matrices. In Logica the point is not the test, though — it is the habit of finding the relationship first. Get one wrong and the game explains which change the pair was really making, so the next one clicks.
Seeing it in action
Worked example
A small circle grows into a big circle. A small triangle starts the second pair — what finishes it?
Name the change in the top pair: the shape stays a shape, but it grows from small to big. Size is the only rule.
Carry the same size change to the bottom pair: a small triangle grows into a big triangle.
Try a few
Small square is to big square as small star is to ___
the shape grows; nothing else changes.
Outline circle is to filled circle as outline triangle is to ___
the outline becomes solid.
Triangle pointing up is to triangle pointing right as triangle pointing right is to ___
each pair turns a quarter-turn clockwise.
Plain diamond is to diamond with a dot as plain circle is to ___
the same small mark is added.
Ready to try it in Logica?
Practice figural analogies in Logica, the free reasoning game in the Practice Lab: Bridge Builder, trail 1, One change. Six puzzles, no timer, no login, calm explanations.
Common questions
What is a figural analogy?
It is an analogy made of shapes instead of words. One pair of shapes changes by a rule — bigger, turned, filled, or marked — and the child makes a second pair change the same way. The relationship is the puzzle, not the shapes themselves.
Do you have figural analogies worksheets or a practice set?
Bridge Builder is an interactive game rather than a printable, so each figural analogies practice item comes with an on-screen explanation for any miss. If you would also like worksheets on paper, our free sample set is a good companion.
My child cannot read yet — can they still do these?
Yes. Shape analogies need no reading at all, only looking and comparing, which is exactly why they suit the youngest children. It is one of the earliest reasoning formats a child can do on their own.
Are these like the visual analogies examples on cognitive tests?
Yes. The format matches the visual analogies examples used on nonverbal screeners like the CogAT Nonverbal battery and the NNAT. In Logica the goal is the thinking skill, not the test, so it stays calm and untimed.
Want a printable set too?
Get the free Reasonwell sample pack — printable reasoning and test-prep material.
Download All three Grade 2 workbook samples ↓22 pages · 1.9 MB · No email requiredText versions (screen-reader friendly): NGAT Grade 2 sample, CogAT Level 8 sample and OLSAT Level C sample