This analogies word bank worksheet gives 3rd Grade students eight analogies, a ten-word bank with two distractors and an answer key, so vocabulary reasoning is practiced and checked in one page.
Puppy is to dog as kitten is to…
An analogy compares two pairs of words that share the same relationship. Fifth graders read them like hot : cold :: up : down and say "hot is to cold as up is to down." They learn the common relationship types: opposites, synonyms, part to whole (petal : flower), tool to user (brush : painter) and young to adult (calf : cow). The trick is naming the relationship in the first pair before looking at the second. The click moment comes when kids say the rule out loud and the answer jumps right out.
Analogies are word puzzles. The secret is teaching kids to find the relationship first.
Model making a "bridge sentence" for the first pair: "A petal is part of a flower." Then try the same sentence with each answer choice: "A page is part of a book." The right answer fits the bridge.
Why it works: showing first, practicing together, then letting kids try alone is the "gradual release" model teachers have relied on for decades (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).
Try it withAnalogies Word Bank WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Give students a word bank and a set of unfinished analogies. They choose the best word and name the relationship type. Naming the type helps them spot patterns across problems.
Why it works: kids understand an idea best when they touch it, then draw it, then write it, the order the U.S. Department of Education recommends for elementary math.
Try it withAnalogies Word Bank WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Partners write three analogies using different relationship types and trade with another pair. Writing their own shows they really understand how analogies work.
Why it works: using clear, consistent math words out loud is one of the U.S. Department of Education's recommendations for elementary math.
An analogy compares two pairs of words that have the same relationship. For example, bird is to nest as bee is to hive, because each one is an animal and its home.
A single colon means "is to," and a double colon means "as." So hot : cold :: up : down reads "hot is to cold as up is to down."
Common types are synonyms, antonyms, part to whole, cause and effect, tool to user, and young to adult. Learning the types makes analogies easier to solve.
Have them say a sentence that explains how the first two words are connected, then test that sentence with the answer choices.
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