Writing systems

Imagine you’re drawing pictures, but not just any pictures! You’re drawing special pictures that mean something – like you might draw a picture of a cat to mean “cat”. This is kind of like how writing works – we draw special pictures that mean words. But not every language uses the same pictures – some use letters, which are like special shapes that we put together to make words. Other languages use symbols, like hieroglyphics or emojis, to represent words. These special pictures or letters are used to communicate with other people who know the same language as you, even if they’re not in the same place as you! And that’s how writing systems work.