Katakana "Shi" Coloring Pages

The "Shi" in "Seesaw"

Katakana "Shi" is the second letter in the Sa-line.
The word on this coloring page is "seesaw". It is a fun piece of playground equipment that two people sit on to go up and down.
On the left side, we drew one playground seesaw as seen from the side.
Try to find the base in the middle that holds the board, and the seats with handles on both ends.
When one side goes down, the other side goes up. It works in a cool way!

Katakana "Shi" Comes From the Kanji "之"

Katakana letters were made by taking parts of Kanji or using their shapes.
Katakana "Shi" was created from a simplified shape of the Kanji "之".
Hiragana "Shi" comes from the very same Kanji "之", too.
Hiragana "Shi" is written with 1 stroke that goes down and curves up to the right. Katakana "Shi" is written with 3 strokes.

How to Write Katakana "Shi"

You write Katakana "Shi" with 3 strokes.
For the 1st and 2nd strokes, write 2 dots on the left side, starting from the top.
Lightly tap your stroke from the top left down toward the bottom right for each dot.
For the 3rd stroke, sweep smoothly from the bottom left up to the top right.
The direction of this 3rd stroke is the most important part of Katakana "Shi"!

The Difference Between Katakana "Shi" and "Tsu"

Katakana "Tsu" looks very similar to Katakana "Shi".
For Katakana "Shi", the dots are lined up vertically on the left, and you draw the last line from bottom to top.
For "Tsu", the dots are lined up horizontally at the top, and you draw the last line from top to bottom.
Even grown-ups get these mixed up! Put them side by side and look closely to see how they are different.

The Long Vowel Mark "ー"

The word "Seesaw" uses the "ー" mark, which stretches out the sound.
This "ー" is called a long vowel mark. It is a symbol mostly used with Katakana words.
In Hiragana, you stretch sounds by writing letters like "a" or "i", just like in "okaasan" (mother). But in Katakana, you usually use "ー".
The word on this coloring page is written top-to-bottom, so the "ー" is a vertical line, too.
It becomes a horizontal line when writing side-to-side, and a vertical line when writing top-to-bottom. Compare them and check it out!

Words With Katakana "Shi"

"Seesaw" comes from English, so we write it in Katakana.
Other words starting with Katakana "Shi" include shimauma (zebra), shika (deer), shirt, sticker, and soap bubbles.
Zebras and deer are names of animals. Shirts and stickers are words that come from other countries.
The "Sha" sound in "shirt" is made by putting Katakana "Shi" together with a small "Ya".

Color the big Katakana "Shi" with 3 colors

Color the big Katakana "Shi" in any colors you like!
If you use a different color for each of the two dots and the final stroke, you can easily see the stroke order.
If you color the final stroke from bottom to top, you will remember which way to write it, too!

Color the seesaw like a real park

It is fun to make the seats two different colors, like red and blue!
Try coloring the long board yellow or orange, and color the handles gray or silver.
If you color the center base with a dark color like green or dark brown, it will look nice and strong.
Draw some grass, flowers, and the sky around it to make it look just like a park!
It is also fun to draw yourself and your friends riding on the seesaw.

How to trace the letter

Trace the Katakana "Shi" in the bottom-right boxes with your pencil.
Line up the two dots vertically, and shift the second dot a little to the right to make it look nice and neat.
Start the third stroke from the bottom left, move up toward the top right, and softly lift your pencil at the end.
Once you write all 8 of them, compare them with Katakana "Tsu" and see how they are different!

Finally, let's read the word too

At the top right, next to the big Katakana "Shi", the word "Seesaw" is written top to bottom.
When you finish coloring, trace the word with your finger and read it out loud: "Seesaw"!
When you connect the picture, the letter, and the word together, it becomes much easier to remember the letter.
It is a great idea to keep your finished coloring page by hanging it on the wall or putting it in a folder!

A Seesaw Is a Type of Lever

A seesaw is play equipment that uses a system called a lever.
The support in the middle is called the fulcrum. The board goes up and down around that center point.
You will also learn about how levers work in elementary school science class!

How a Heavy Person and a Light Person Can Balance

When a heavy person and a light person ride a seesaw, the heavier person sinks down, right?
When that happens, if the heavier person sits closer to the middle, they might balance out!
Try changing where you sit and give it a shot.

"Seesaw Game"

In sports, a match where teams keep trading points back and forth and it is hard to tell who will win is sometimes called a "seesaw game."
This expression comes from how the lead flips back and forth, just like a seesaw going up and down.

Let's Play Safely

When you play on a seesaw, sit down and hold on tight to the handles.
If you get off suddenly while the other person is still on, they will fall with a big thud!
Make sure to talk to each other before you get off.

Other Names for a Seesaw

In some regions and families, people call a seesaw "Gittan Bakkon."
This name comes from the movements and sounds it makes as it goes up and down.
What do the people around you call it?