Way to Bee

Kaedon worked hard and won his school spelling bee again.  Three out of four of the kids in the final four (it started out with 14 kids) were from our ward, and they went round after round without any errors (20 total rounds).  I was really impressed with all of them and it made the spelling bee more fun to watch, but it was also more nerve-wracking. 

I told Kaedon to ask for one clue about the word even though the word might seem obvious, just to make sure he understood which word they were asking for.   At the beginning he got the word "scissors."  He seemed unsure whether to follow my advice or not (I was feeling a little unsure myself, since it seemed so straightforward), but, after a pause, he asked for a definition.  There were a few giggles as she defined scissors as "two sharp metal cutting implements placed together....etc."  He ended up winning with the word 'ergophobia' -- the fear of work-- he thought that was funny.
 

When we have prepared for these bees, I have looked for tips on practicing for a spelling bee and there doesn't seem to be much information out there.  Here are a few tips we've learned by trial and error:

1.  Practice all the words on the sheet given to you for the Bee with someone who will call out the words for you.  Mark the ones you miss and go back and practice those again.

2.  When you miss a word, have your parent/helper show you the word on the page.  For extra reinforcement, write or type the word yourself.  You can put the word into Merriam Webster's search page and look up the definition too.

2.  Make sure you are getting the correct pronunciation.  Merriam Webster's site offers audio clips of the words being pronounced correctly.  This is important because many tricky words have weird pronunciations, like the word uitlander, pronounced ate-lander.

3.  Learn basic definitions of the words you are studying.  This makes the words have meaning to you and will make you a better person regardless of whether you win or lose.  We made a basic silly story including words we were having trouble with or didn't know and seeing them in context can help you remember their meaning.

4.  Learn the rules.   Lots of kids get out just because they don't know the rules.

5.  Make sure you understand the word.  In the actual Spelling Bee, when you hear your word, say it back and ask if you are pronouncing it correctly.  Ask for definition, part of speech, or anything else before you start spelling to make sure you understand which word they are asking for.   Last year a girl in our Bee got out because she thought the pronouncer had said "rive" when she said "writhe." 

6.  Go slow.  DON'T be like Akeela right now.  Pause before you spell and think about it a minute.  Then spell each letter slowly and clearly.  This is important because once you've spelled a letter, there is no going back.  You can start over, but you have to use the same letters you already used.  It was sad to watch some really smart kids think they had to spell really fast and then accidentally say an incorrect letter.

7.  Do your best and be a good sport!  As long as you do that, you are a winner. 

8.  If you want to step it up a notch, learn basic etymology, like the rules for Greek based- words, French, etc.  You can buy extra study lists for National Bee level words at www.hexco.com.

For more tips, check out :  http://www.spellingbee.com/