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The Three Writing Systems

Third graders discover something amazing about Japanese — it uses THREE writing systems together: hiragana (ひらがな), katakana (カタカナ), and kanji (漢字). They also meet romaji, which spells Japanese sounds with A-B-C letters to help beginners.

Grade 3Writing Systems40 minutes1 class periodACTFL / World LanguagesExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Know the three systems.
  • ✓Tell them apart.
  • ✓Understand romaji.
  • ✓Appreciate the writing.
Essential Question

Japanese is written with not one, not two, but THREE different systems! What are they, and how do they work?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

The Japanese Writing Explorer

Project this and tap each. Have students learn the three Japanese writing systems.

📝 Explore the writing systems — tap eachTry it

The Lesson · Language Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

40 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Three Ways to Write

5 min

Japanese uses THREE writing systems together — what are they?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show あ, ア, 山 side by side.
  • Ask how they differ.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Look.
  • Wonder.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Writing Systems

11 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to the Writing Explorer.
  • Present each system.
  • Note romaji helps beginners.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each.
  • Note it.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Practice

11 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a system.
  • Say what it’s used for.
  • Explain romaji.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name it.
  • Say it.
  • Explain.
4

Speak — Speak

9 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Read “sushi” in romaji.
  • Trace あ (hiragana “a”).
  • Share with a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Read.
  • Trace.
  • Share.
5

Reflect — Reflect

4 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a writing system.
  • Say what romaji is.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Novice-Low).

ACTFL
Cultures 2.2

Explore cultural products (writing).

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.1

Compare writing systems.

ACTFL
Connections 3.2

Connect to language study.

ACTFL
Communication 1.2

Interpretive: recognize systems.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Writing-system cards.
  • Show clear examples.
  • Trace characters.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with hiragana & romaji.
  • Use big examples.
  • Trace one character.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Learn 3 hiragana.
  • Find katakana in loanwords.
  • Learn the kanji 山.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 📝Writing cards
  • 💻The Japanese Writing Explorer
  • ✏️Tracing sheets
  • 🖍️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

writing systema way to write a languageひらがな (hiragana)rounded charactersカタカナ (katakana)angular characters漢字 (kanji)characters from Chineseローマ字 (romaji)A-B-C spellingcharactera written symbolsounda spoken syllableworda unit of meaning
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
How many writing systems does Japanese use together?
Three — hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
QUESTION 2
What is katakana mostly used for?
Foreign or borrowed words (like コーヒー, coffee).
QUESTION 3
What is romaji?
Writing Japanese sounds with A-B-C letters (like “sushi”).

Reflect: writing systems.

Have students name the three Japanese writing systems and what romaji is for. A printable Japanese writing sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 The Three Japanese Writing SystemsFlip
Card 1
Term
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Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 The Three Japanese Writing SystemsQuiz
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1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ The Three Japanese Writing SystemsPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: character, sound, word, writing system, ひらがな (hiragana), カタカナ (katakana), ローマ字 (romaji), 漢字 (kanji)
  1. a way to write a language
  2. a spoken syllable
  3. a unit of meaning
  4. A-B-C spelling
  5. a written symbol
  6. characters from Chinese
  7. rounded characters
  8. angular characters

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. How many writing systems does Japanese use together?
  2. What is katakana mostly used for?
  3. What is romaji?
Answer key — Part A: 1) writing system · 2) sound · 3) word · 4) ローマ字 (romaji) · 5) character · 6) 漢字 (kanji) · 7) ひらがな (hiragana) · 8) カタカナ (katakana)
Part B: 1) Three — hiragana, katakana, and kanji. 2) Foreign or borrowed words (like コーヒー, coffee). 3) Writing Japanese sounds with A-B-C letters (like “sushi”).