Spelling bee

Mastering Spelling Bee v.1.3.0 1
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This manual is proudly brought to you by the authors of
the first Spelling Bee training system: Spelling Bee Ninja.
Our aim is to provide the most comprehensive spelling
bee resources and methods to all the students willing to
master and win spelling bee competitions.
Good Luck!!!
About the Publisher
Spelling Bee Ninja
@Spelling_Ninja

Section 0: Introduction.................................................................................................................. 10
0.0 Copyright Notice.............................................................................................................. 11
0.1 Purpose and recipients of this manual............................................................................12
0.2 What will you learn from this manual............................................................................. 12
0.3 Where to find the latest edition manual.........................................................................13
0.5 Sections overview............................................................................................................ 13
0.4 How to read this manual................................................................................................. 14
0.5 We need your help and feedback....................................................................................14
Section 1: Spelling Bee Basics........................................................................................................16
1.1 Introduction to the Spelling Bee......................................................................................17
1.2 History of Spelling Bee in the USA...................................................................................19
1.3 Brief Historical Timeline of Spelling Bee..........................................................................21
1.4 The Scripps Spelling Bee.................................................................................................. 22
1.4.1 Scripps National Spelling Bee Competition Format..............................................22
1.4.2 Qualifying Regional Competitions........................................................................ 22
1.4.3 National Competition Format...............................................................................23
1.5 Popular spelling bees around the world..........................................................................25
1.5.1 Scripps National Spelling Bee................................................................................25
1.5.2 South Asian Spelling Bee.......................................................................................26
1.5.2.1 Global broadcast........................................................................................26
1.5.2.2 Registration................................................................................................26
1.5.2.3 Road to the South Asian Spelling Bee finals.............................................. 26
Table of Contents

1.5.3 Indian Spelling Bee................................................................................................28
1.5.3.1 Who can participate?.................................................................................28
1.5.3.2 Spelling bee rounds................................................................................... 28
1.5.3.3 Registration for India Spelling Bee.............................................................28
1.5.3.4 How the Indian Spelling Bee works........................................................... 29
1.5.4 Spelling Bee of Canada..........................................................................................30
1.5.4.1 SBOC categories.........................................................................................30
1.5.4.2 SBOC Prizes................................................................................................ 30
1.5.4.3 The different stages of the Spelling bee of Canada...................................31
1.5.5 European PTA........................................................................................................32
1.5.6 UNC Adult Spelling Bee.........................................................................................32
1.5.7 The Japan Spelling Bee..........................................................................................33
1.5.7.1 Purpose of the Japan Times Bee................................................................33
1.5.7.2 Registration and enrollment......................................................................33
1.5.7.3 Competition rules...................................................................................... 34
1.5.8 African Spelling Bee.............................................................................................. 35
1.5.8.1 Participating countries...............................................................................35
1.5.9 Mexican MEXTESOL Spelling Bee..........................................................................36
1.5.9.1 Registration for Mexican MEXTESOL Spelling Bee.................................... 36
Section 2: Preparing for Spelling Bee.............................................................................................37
2.2.1 Spelling Bee preparation.......................................................................................37
2.2.7 Building a Winning Strategy..................................................................................39
2.2.2 How to spell in English Language?........................................................................42
2.2.3 Useful Technique to Help You Spell a Difficult Word........................................... 42
2.2.4 Common Spelling Rules........................................................................................ 46
2.2.5 How to prepare for Spelling Bee? ........................................................................48
2.2.6 Useful Preparation Tips.........................................................................................51

2.2.8 Practicing for Spelling Bee.................................................................................... 53
2.2.9 How to face a Spelling Bee................................................................................... 56
2.2.10 Preparing for spelling bee when it’s late............................................................59
2.2.11 Organize a mock spelling bee at your school..................................................... 62
Section 3: Training with Spelling Bee Ninja................................................................................... 66
3.1 Introduction to SBN......................................................................................................... 67
3.1.1 Spelling Bee Ninja................................................................................................. 67
3.1.2 How SBN works.....................................................................................................69
3.2 Using Spelling Bee Ninja.................................................................................................. 70
3.2.1 Starting with SBN..................................................................................................70
3.2.2 Creating an account..............................................................................................70
3.2.3 Managing your account........................................................................................ 71
3.2.4 Free and paid features..........................................................................................73
3.2.4 Redeem your code................................................................................................74
3.2.3 Creating a student.................................................................................................74
3.2.3.1 Local Students............................................................................................75
3.2.3.2 Invited Students.........................................................................................75
3.2.3.3 Student Profile...........................................................................................77
3.2.4 Spelling Tests........................................................................................................ 78
3.2.4.1 Spelling test options.................................................................................. 78
3.2.4.2 Report Cards.............................................................................................. 81
3.2.4.4 Error List.....................................................................................................82
3.2.4.3 Student statistics card................................................................................82
3.2.4.4 Smart Trainer............................................................................................. 83
3.2.4.5 Learning Spelling Tests...............................................................................84
3.2.4.6 Review Spelling Tests.................................................................................84
3.2.4.7 Reset the Smart Trainer.............................................................................85

3.2.4.8 Training strategy using the smart trainer..................................................86
3.2.4.9 Official Spelling Tests.................................................................................87
3.2.4.10 Rankings and Certificates of Achievement..............................................87
3.2.4.11 How Official Spelling Tests score is calculated........................................ 88
3.2.5 Spelling Words lists...............................................................................................91
3.2.6 My Words section.................................................................................................91
3.2.7 Working with spelling lists....................................................................................93
3.2.7.1 Create and delete a Spelling List................................................................93
3.2.7.2 Viewing and Editing lists............................................................................ 94
3.2.7.3 Add and import words to a list.................................................................. 95
3.2.7.4 Remove words from a list..........................................................................96
3.2.7.5 Cloning a Spelling List................................................................................ 97
3.2.7.7 Flash cards..................................................................................................98
3.2.7.8 Take a Spelling test using a specific list..................................................... 99
3.2.7.9 Embed a list into a web page...................................................................100
3.2.8 Featured Lists......................................................................................................101
3.2.9 Spelling Bee Search Engine.................................................................................101
3.2.10 Spelling Bee Word Card.................................................................................... 103
Section 4: Practical guides........................................................................................................... 104
4.1 Introduction................................................................................................................... 105
4.2 How to start your spelling bee training.........................................................................106
4.2.1: Getting familiar with the competition itself......................................................106
4.2.2: Preparing a well planned spelling bee training schedule..................................107
4.2.3: Learning the spelling bee word lists.................................................................. 108
4.2.4: Isolating the difficult words...............................................................................109
4.2.5: Making a custom list with the isolated words...................................................110
4.2.6: Using flashcards to learn the spelling bee words..............................................111

4.2.7: Diving deeper into the spelling bee words with etymology .............................112
4.2.8: Trying out online spelling tests..........................................................................113
4.2.9: Determining how prepared you are..................................................................113
4.3 How to increase your chances of winning the Spelling Bee..........................................114
4.3.1 Use the proper resources................................................................................... 115
4.3.2 Practice makes the perfect speller..................................................................... 116
4.3.3 Train smart and give online tests to know where you stand............................. 117
4.3.4 Give emphasis on the difficult words................................................................. 118
4.3.5 Have a good rest the day prior to the event...................................................... 119
4.3.6 Don’t get intimidated by long words..................................................................120
4.3.7 Don’t rush your answers if you want to win the spelling bee............................121
4.3.8 Overcoming the fear of public speaking.............................................................122
4.4 SBN Spelling tools quick overview.................................................................................123
4.4.1 The Spelling Bee Ninja website ..........................................................................123
4.4.2 - Spelling words lists........................................................................................... 124
4.4.3 - Featured word lists...........................................................................................125
4.4.4 - Spelling search engine...................................................................................... 126
4.4.5 - Spelling Test and Smart Trainer........................................................................127
4.4.6 - Error List............................................................................................................128
4.4.7 - Spelling flashcards ........................................................................................... 128
4.5 Words Lists and flashcards reference guide..................................................................129
4.5.1 Why use flashcards?........................................................................................... 129
4.5.2 Redirecting to the Spelling Bee Ninja App..........................................................130
4.5.3 Signing in.............................................................................................................131
4.5.4 Redirecting to the ‘My Spelling Lists’ section.....................................................132
4.5.5 Creating custom spelling words lists.................................................................. 133
4.5.6 Giving the custom word list a name...................................................................134

4.5.7 Entering the words in the list..............................................................................135
4.5.8 Using the custom word list in flash cards...........................................................136
4.5.9 Using the custom word list in Spelling Test........................................................137
4.6 Organizing a spelling bee event.....................................................................................138
4.6.1 Fixing a date........................................................................................................139
4.6.2 Choosing a venue................................................................................................140
4.6.3 Forming a dedicated team to organize a spelling bee........................................141
4.6.4 Letting people know........................................................................................... 142
4.6.5 Knowing the participants....................................................................................143
4.6.6 Selecting a panel and announcer........................................................................144
4.6.7 Deciding on the competition rounds..................................................................145
4.6.8 Announcing a prize pool..................................................................................... 146
4.6.9 Choosing the words............................................................................................ 147
4.6.10 Print large flashcards........................................................................................ 148
4.6.11 How the competition proceeds........................................................................149
4.6.12 How the answers are to be provided............................................................... 149
4.6.13 How the winner is to be declared.....................................................................149
Section 5: Spelling Bee Resources............................................................................................... 150
5.1 Spelling Words Lists....................................................................................................... 151
5.1.1 1st grade Spelling Words....................................................................................152
5.1.2 2nd grade Spelling Words...................................................................................153
5.1.3 3rd grade Spelling Words....................................................................................154
5.1.4 4th grade Spelling Words....................................................................................155

5.1.9 High School grade Spelling Words......................................................................160
5.1.10 Very Difficult Spelling Words............................................................................161
5.1.11 Frequently Misspelled Words...........................................................................162
5.1.12 Latin Words.......................................................................................................163
5.1.13 Japanese Words................................................................................................164
5.1.14 More Asian Words............................................................................................ 165
5.1.15 Arabic Words.................................................................................................... 166
5.1.16 Spanish Words.................................................................................................. 167
5.1.17 Silent Words......................................................................................................168
5.1.18 Dolch Words Grade 1........................................................................................169
5.2 Spelling Bee Sheet..........................................................................................................172
4.3 Spelling Bee Words Sheet..............................................................................................173
5.4 Spelling Bee Links...........................................................................................................174

Section 0: Introduction
Introduction
0
SECTION 0

0.0 Copyright Notice
Mastering Spelling Bee. Copyright © 2019 SpellingBee.ninja and the SpecialOne Studio.
All rights reserved.
This book is the property of Spelling Bee Ninja and the SpecialOne Studio. The contents of this
book are protected by the United States and International Copyright laws, and cannot be
published, modified, rearranged or used in any form written and/or electronic.
This book cannot be sold and no money can be charged for the distributing it unless prior and
explicit authorization is provided by the publisher.
This book can be linked from third party websites using the official distribution page of this
book, that is:
https://www.spellingbee.ninja/spelling-manual
The contents of this book are protected by United States and International Copyright.
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or
otherwise—unless prior and explicit authorization from the publisher.
For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below.
https://www.spellingbee.ninja/contact-us
Visit our website at:
https://www.spellingbee.ninja

0.1 Purpose and recipients of this manual
Welcome to Mastering spelling bee.
This book is dedicated to all the students willing to prepare for the spelling bee in a serious way.
This book also contains all the things you need to know about our spelling bee Training web app,
Spelling Bee Ninja, and how to use it.
This book can be a very useful resource for those students willing to compete and win a spelling
bee Competition like the Scripps spelling bee or any other spelling competition.
The methods and tools described in this manual will also be useful to those studying the English
language, allowing them to increase spelling capabilities and broaden their vocabulary very
quickly.
0.2 What will you learn from this manual
After reading this book you will know a lot of things about spelling bees in general.
You will be aware of the most effective preparation methods and you will get to know a lot
about our training system and how to utilize it in the best way possible for your preparation.
You will learn the mechanics behind the most famous spelling bees around the world and the
related rules.
You will learn many training techniques and tips that will allow you to become a top speller very
quickly.
You will also know where to find and how to use software systems used by top spellers for
training and preparation purposes using modern days techniques.

0.3 Where to find the latest edition manual
This manual is officially distributed through our website www.spellingbee.ninja.
However, it is very likely that it will spread throughout the internet and be distributed by many
alternative channels, such as distribution partners, web services and websites.
This manual is to be constantly updated, in particular, the section dedicated to our software
system, will be revised and updated very often, as we continue to integrate more features into
the system.
Therefore, it is very important to check the edition number on the cover page, to be sure that
you have the latest version.
To know the latest version number, please check the official page on our website at
https://www.spellingbee.ninja/spelling-manual
Be sure to update your copy if you don’t own the latest version.
0.5 Sections overview
This manual is divided in 6 sections:
i. Section 0:
A brief introduction and general information about the book
ii. Section 1:
An overview of spelling bee competitions, rules and history, list and descriptions of the
most famous spelling bee competitions worldwide
iii. Section 2:
How to prepare for a spelling bee, tips tricks, study methods and techniques, preparation
strategies.
iv. Section 3:
Training for the spelling bee using the Spelling Bee Ninja training system.
v. Section 4:
Practical guides and how to, using Spelling Bee Ninja .
vi. Section 5:
Spelling bee lists divided by grade, Spelling Bee sheets and a list of online resources for
your study.

0.4 How to read this manual
If you are new to spelling bees and want to get the most out of this book, we strongly suggest
you to read it from the beginning to the end.
If you are already aware of spelling bee training methods and are looking for instructions on
how to use our spelling bee Training system, you can jump directly to Section 3: Training with
Spelling Bee Ninja.
If you are not interested in training at all and just want to get general information about
spelling bees, start from Section 1: spelling bee Basics.
If you are looking for tips, techniques and methods to improve your spelling, without using
any computer aid, please refer to Section 2: Preparing for spelling bee.
Section 4 presents a collection of quick, step by step practical guides and tools to train for
spelling bee, mostly using our spelling bee app, you jump to this section with no prerequisites,
only, refer to section 3 for detailed instruction on how to use the SBN tools and app.
0.5 We need your help and feedback
Our intent is to make this the best Spelling Bee Manual ever. To achieve this goal we need your
help. So please don’t hesitate please get in touch with us for:
a. Suggestions
b. Paragraph and arguments you’d like to see included
c. Errors, typos
d. Your opinion
e. Anything else

Please send us your feedback at:
https://www.spellingbee.ninja/contact-us/

Section 1: Spelling Bee Basics
Spelling Bee Basics
1
SECTION 1

1.1 Introduction to the Spelling Bee
Spelling bee competitions have always garnered the interest of a large part of the population in
the United States of America. From aspiring students to their enthusiastic parents, spelling bee
has evolved from just a contest to a popular culture that affects every school, neighborhood
and child in the country.
The lure of deep media coverage along with a hefty cash prize is known to intensify the spelling
bee spirit with children spending hours in preparation, every week before the contest.
spelling bee, which is now a popular feature during the academic years of every child,
throughout the country, has been part of the American folk tradition for more than a few
hundred years.
The earliest evidence of spelling bees can be traced back to the 1700s as a part of Colonial
Education by the Puritans. Throughout the mid-18th century, spelling contests which were
often called as spelling matches were quite common in schools. Even Benjamin Franklin
recommended the use of such contests in a school proposal published in 1750.
The National Spelling Bee or more commonly known as Scripps National Spelling Bee has been
regularly held since 1925.
Since its inception, spelling bees have amassed a massive following and is seen as a platform to
fulfill academic aspirations. The main reason for popularity - parents want to see their children
succeed and want the world to acknowledge their brilliance and might.
Every year, more than 11 million kids fight their way to the top, dodging spelling challenges at
school, city and regional level spelling bees to become one of the few hundred finalists for the
national finals. The spelling bee contest is not just an event, it is the story of our culture,
language and hard work of millions of kids who experience the first taste of persistence,
commitment, resourcefulness, discipline and even failure, to evolve in life.
spelling bee is the story of modern English language which has been an instrumental part of the
American lifestyle for years. The aspiring students are not just competitors, they turn into
passionate etymologists who learn to dig deeper into lingual patterns, scrounge the history of
words, master the mysteries of the language and find their way to lingual supremacy.
In a way, spelling bees are not just about spellings of some random words- it’s about how our
language was built, developing vocabulary, grammar, leading and comprehension skills and
evolving oneself as an individual who is highly analytical and pragmatic.
Moreover, it’s not just about how the language evolved over the years, it’s about how the
national challenge evolve a child’s skills and how he deals with the challenges beyond. It
wouldn’t be wrong to say participating in a spelling bee is like an adventurous saga that

requires a child to invest countless hours into research, mastering his fears of spontaneous
recitation and tackling the unforeseeable challenge.
In the end, all of this hard work and dedication colludes into an annual gala where hundreds of
promising young minds gather to find out who has been the most committed to achieve
something great in life. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that spelling bee gives a child a glimpse into
realism and the American lifestyle. It defines who we are, what it means to nurture an American
dream and how to make the best out of available resources. This folk tradition which started
centuries back has taught many generations the value of never giving up on dreams and be the
best version of themselves.
This book is a tribute to the spelling bee culture, hundreds of winners and millions of children
who have nurtured spelling bee into a global phenomenon, today. In this book, we will take you
through the history of spelling bee contests and how to prepare effectively for winning at these
contests.

1.2 History of Spelling Bee in the USA
Spelling bees have been on the American academic landscape for more than two hundred years.
According to several sources, the first usage of a similar word like ‘spelling bee’ dates back to
the year 1769 when it might have been called the ‘spinning bee’1
Spelling bee competitions were a common feature of the American landscape by the middle of
the eighteenth century. Benjamin Franklin, one of our founding fathers even suggested spelling
bee contests to be a regular part of schooling curriculum in one of his proposal in the year 1750.
By the nineteenth century, Spelling challenges had been a popular aspect of American life, both
for children and the adults. It was part of the pop culture and even found mentions in novels
like The Hoosier Schoolmaster- a bestseller published in 1871 in which the hero falls in love
with a woman competitor in a spelling match. Spelling fights were even mentioned in The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
Spelling bees were commonly known as ‘spelling matches’ at that time. The phrase got the
modern uplift in the mid 1870s where first time the match was called as a spelling bee. The
earliest known documented evidence of the phrase “spelling bee” dates back to 1850 and
appeared in print in 1875.
The term ‘bee’ referred to a social gathering or event with a common goal, back then, which in
this case was to compete on knowledge of spellings.
A key motivation for the competition was The Noah Webster’s spelling books which were first
published in 1786 and known informally as ‘The Blue-backed Speller’.
The Webster’s spelling book was a prerequisite part of the syllabus of all elementary school Kid
in the United States for five (5) generations. As of now, the main-key reference for the
competition is Webster’s Third New International Dictionary which contains approximately
473,000 words presently, which students should have the capability to spell.
The National Spelling Bee, the way we see it today, is a national event held in Washington D.C.
every year, where winners of local and regional bee contests congregate to compete in the
national level competition. Managed and run by E.W. Scripps Company, The National Spelling
Bee contest has an interesting history attached to it.
The first known instance of a nationwide spelling competition is known to date back to the year
1908 which was organized by the National Education Association.2 But the initiative failed to
gather much attention at that time.
Later, during the year 1925, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, a famous newspaper house and
organizer of state-level spelling bee contest in Kentucky for grade school children, asked other

American newspapers to collaborate and sponsor children for participating in a national level
contest.
By the end of June 1925, more than 2 million children participated in local level competitions
out of which 9 were shortlisted- representing one of the nine participating newspapers in the
national initiative. These nine contestants competed at a national-level contest in Washington.
Frank Neuhauser, an 11-year-old kid from Louisville won the inaugural contest by spelling the
word ‘Gladiolus’. He won a cash prize of $500, back then.
The event proved extremely popular and soon other newspapers joined forces to conduct
national-level competition every year.
In the year 1941, Scripps Newspaper group, won the sponsorship for National Spelling Bee
contest, while local newspapers continued representing students at the regional level.
In 1958, National Spelling Bee contest became more structured when Merriam Webster
affiliated with the National Spelling Bee to launch Webster’s Third Unabridged dictionary as the
official arbiter of any word’s spelling. Along with that, the company also began publishing a
spelling bee study guide for contestants.
Over the years, Scripps National Spelling Bee has turned into a national phenomenon. In its
92nd edition held in 2019, more than 565 contestants from all over the country participated
against each other for the winning price.
The prizes have also been raised from nominal $500 in its first edition to $50.000 in its latest
edition. Naturally, the popularity and media attention it receives has grown over the years too.
Today, National Spelling Bee is a major television event with ESPN broadcasting the event
annually since 1994.
The journey of spelling bee contests from a regional competition to a national (and even
international) phenomenon has been exciting and phenomenally grand.
People are fascinated by the spelling bee contests. The event has been broadcasted to millions
of viewers around the globe. Several documentaries and features have been made on the
concept. Still, the passion and interest of the people hasn’t faded over all these years, even in
the age of auto fills and spell checks. Maybe, the dream of doing something big in life is what
drives all these passionate children. Who knows what we have in the future.
With increased interest from the students as well as the parents, the bar gets raised every year.
Incidentally, now contestants do not only need to have deep orthographic knowledge, but also
a knack for spelling and great concentration levels along with the capability to deal with the
pressure.

1.3 Brief Historical Timeline of Spelling Bee
 1750 - Formal suggestion by Benjamin Franklin to include spelling bee Contests in schools
 1769 - Earliest mention of contests similar to spelling bee
 1786 - Publication of the first Noah Webster Spelling Books
 Mid 19th Century - Spelling bee contests became more popular and found mentions in
novels, journals and newspapers. Coining of the term spelling bee.
 1908 - First national spelling competition held by National Education Association
 1925 - The Courier Journal collaborated with other newspapers to begin a national level
contest.
 June 1925- First collaborative national level spelling bee contest won by Frank Neuhauser.
 1941 - Scripps Newspaper Group won sponsorship rights for National Spelling Bee Contest
 1946 - Spelling bee first broadcasted on NBC
 1958 - Affiliation of National Spelling Bee with Merriam Webster to launch Webster Third
Unabridged dictionary as official arbiter for spellings.
 1994 - Spelling bee first broadcasted live on ESPN
 2005 – First National Spelling Bee held in USA with international participation from
Bahamas, Jamaica, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Canada, New Zealand,
Puerto Rico, Germany, Canada & New Zealand2

1.4 The Scripps Spelling Bee
Winning the National Spelling Bee is the dream of many children.
No matter where one lives, the prospect of being the next spelling bee sensation is extremely
lucrative. Though everyone wants to win spelling bee, each year only a few manage to secure
their position in the top charts and ultimately lift the engraved spelling bee trophy and the cash
prizes associated with the championship.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee or simply National Spelling Bee is the most popular and widely
acclaimed spelling bee competition in the United States of America. Started in 1925, the
spelling bee has been held every year since then (except from 1943 to 1945 due to World War-
II).
The E.W. Scripps Company holds the right to hold and promote National Spelling Bee contest
since 1941 and takes care of all the affairs on a not-for-profit basis.
National Spelling Bee is held in the week following Memorial Day Weekend in Washington D.C.
1.4.1 Scripps National Spelling Bee Competition Format
Scripps National Spelling Bee is one of the longest-running educational contests in the United
States of America.
The National Spelling Bee Competition is known to operate on a unique model where 291 of its
sponsors organize spelling bee competitions within local communities.
Sponsors of National Spelling Bee generally are daily and weekly English-language newspapers
from around the world. With the help and support of local schools – private or public, these
sponsors organize spelling bee contests to come up with a champion. All the champions
compete annually in Washington D.C. at the annual competition.
1.4.2 Qualifying Regional Competitions
Entry to the National Spelling Bee competition depends on a speller’s performance in the
regional competition.
A regional contest may or may not correspond to the national competition and covers multiple
counties, states, territories or even foreign countries.

Regional competitions, commonly known as local spelling bees, ask spellers to use official study
booklet known as Spell It! Spellers are required to use the official study booklet and prepare for
competition at the regional level.
Though, ‘Spell It!’ is the official study booklet, students have often been seen using School
Pronouncer’s Guide, which is a shorter version of Scripps’ official dictionary with several
surprise words.
1.4.3 National Competition Format
All the successful spellers who’ve won the regional bees compete in the national event as per a
specific format. The National Competition consists of multiple rounds starting divided between
preliminaries and finals. The finalists compete in prime-time spelling bee finale.
Preliminaries
The prelims consist of a multiple-choice test followed by a single round of oral spelling onstage.
The multiple-choice test has 26 questions divided into four different sections.
The round one spelling section allows spellers to score one point for each of the 12 correct
answers. In the second round, one scores one point for each of the 12 correct answers in the
Vocabulary sections. By the third round, each speller gets three-point for each current answer
in the Vocabulary section.
If a speller makes a mistake during round two or three, he/she is immediately eliminated from
the competition.
After round three, the scores of all remaining spellers is gauged on a ‘Maximum of 50’ standard
chart. 50 spellers are shortlisted based on scoring levels and rest spellers are eliminated who
are tied with subsequent eliminated ones before the finals.
Finals
The final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee kicks off right after the preliminaries with
round four and continues to proceed with short breaks as per the necessity. This will go on till
the authorities declare a champion or co-champions.
The remaining spellers of the competition are asked to spell out one word in each round.
Spelling a word incorrectly during an oral round will result in the direct elimination of the
speller (exception: End-of-Bee Procedure, which is discussed below). Spellers who get
eliminated in the same round are tied for the same place.
The End-of-Bee Procedure: Under the circumstances where all the participants in an oral
spelling round misspell the respective word, they shall all remain in the competition and a new
round will begin with the spellers spelling in their original order. If only one participant spells

correctly in a round, a new one-word round will be started and the speller is given the
opportunity to spell the next word from the list (anticipated winning word). If the speller
correctly spells the anticipated winning word in this one-word round, he or she is declared as
the champion. If the speller misspells the provided word, a new round will begin with all the
spellers who spelled correctly and incorrectly in the previous round, and they will all be spelling
in their original order.
Round Limit and Provision for Declaration of Co-Champions: The maximum limit of oral spelling
rounds involving three or fewer participants is 25. If such a situation arises where it becomes
mathematically impossible for the authority to declare a single champion from these 25
participants, they will all be declared as the co-champions.

1.5 Popular spelling bees around the world
Although the Scripps is the most famous Spelling Bee competition in the world, there are
several other important Spelling Bees being organized around the world every year.
These contests range from regional levels, all the way up to the national levels and then to the
global level. The global spelling bee circuit has come quite far and has seen a lot of
development over the past two decades.
As young students and learners are becoming more and more interested to take part in such
spelling activities, the organizers and spelling bee enthusiasts are doing everything in their
power to ensure that these young souls are provided with the proper platform and guide to
pursue their goals.
With these thoughts in mind, spelling bees have been established around the world.
1.5.1 Scripps National Spelling Bee
www.spellingbee.com
Again and briefly, the Scripps National Spelling bee is the most popular spelling bee event in the
whole world. Inaugurated back in 1925, this US based spelling bee hosts participants from all
over the world, with majority of these participants being from the United States.
The competition is held annually during the month of May. Participants must not be older than
14 years and they must not have passed the 8th grade.
This spelling bee is probably the most competitive one out there. This is probably one of the
reasons why 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee ended up having 8 WINNERS, INSTEAD OF 1
(because they ran out of words)!
The Scripps National Spelling bee also endorses a few other spelling bees around the world. It
also accepts participants from other regional spelling bee competitions held in the United
States.

1.5.2 South Asian Spelling Bee
https://southasianspellingbee.com/
The South Asian Spelling Bee is an annual competition held in the United States for children of
South Asian descent. This spelling bee tours the country mid-year in search for the top two
spellers from 5 cities nationwide. The finalists will then battle it out in the national rounds for
the spelling bee crown.
It also has a program similar to the Scripps National Spelling Bee's RSVBee, called the SAS-BEE
where wild-card spellers can apply to compete at the nationals.
The spelling bee is open to any student below the age of 15, and having at least one parent or
grandparent from a South Asian descent. Origin countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The event is accepting up to a hundred applications on a first come first serve basis.
20 students will be shortlisted from the original 100 applicants based on certain criteria. Finally,
12 students will be allowed to take part in the finals.
1.5.2.1 Global broadcast
The South Asian Spelling Bee is aired on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) Asia as a multi-
part series. The competition has been on since 2008 and broadcasted to over 120 countries.
1.5.2.2 Registration
A parent or legal guardian of the speller must register online via credit card. On-site
registrations are not available. Registration of the participants must be done within the
deadline as further extensions of the deadline are not possible.
1.5.2.3 Road to the South Asian Spelling Bee finals
This spelling bee is divided into three distinct stages. The primaries, regional oral rounds, and
the national finals.
Primaries: This is a written test. Spellers are to write down 25 words with a time limit of 60
seconds for each word. A host will read out a word along with its definition. To qualify for the
next round, the spelling bee contestants must spell a minimum of 15 words correctly.
Regional oral rounds: These rounds are conducted on a miss and out basis, until only one
speller remains. This remaining spelling bee participant is given a championship word, which if
spelled correctly, will make the speller the regional champion. The regional winner and first

runner-up from each center will go on to spell at the final round.
Finals: The top 2 spellers from each regional contest advance to the finals. The final rounds are
conducted completely in an oral format as described above. There will be a two minute time
limit for each speller. The last remaining speller of the finals will be declared as the National
Champion.

1.5.3 Indian Spelling Bee
https://www.indiaspellingbee.com
The Indian Spelling Bee is one of the most popular spelling bees in the Sub-continent and the
biggest spelling bee event in India. The competition is open for school kids (Grade 1 to 9).
The national level spelling bee is held during the month of August.
The India Spelling Bee was designed by acquiring certain inputs gained from the past spelling
bee experiences in India. Organizers of this bee consulted with both students and academicians,
to make sure they were going in the right way.
Students from anywhere in India can participate in this competition irrespective of their
location, board, medium of education, race or gender. India is a diverse country, and keeping
this thought in mind, the competition promotes this diversity. It is held in both urban as well as
rural schools and institutions.
1.5.3.1 Who can participate?
The India Spelling Bee is open to all Indian students from grade 1 to 9. All participants are
awarded participation certificates.
The students will participate in 5 categories or grades. These are as follows:
Grade 1: Students from Class 1
Grade 2: Students from Class 2-3
1.5.3.2 Spelling bee rounds
Since India is such a vast country, the spelling bee takes place in more stages. I
n the first stage, the competition is held regionally as each school is put under one of four
regions (north, south, east, and west). Placeholders from these regional rounds then battle it
out in the national round held in Kolkata, India.
1.5.3.3 Registration for India Spelling Bee
Participants can register for the India Spelling Bee through their respective schools only.
Individual registration is currently unavailable. The registration is free of charge, however,
students do have to pay a one-time fee of 125 rupees ($1.5) for a spelling bee guide book.

1.5.3.4 How the Indian Spelling Bee works
Once you register through your school, your very first round will be an on-campus round.
Winners from the on-campus rounds will move on to the regional rounds.
Schools are divided into four regions – north, south, east, and west. There will be winners from
each zone who will then go on to the national finals.
The final rounds are always intense. The last remaining spellers will be declared as the winners.
Note that each grade will have a champion, a first runner-up, and a second runner-up.

1.5.4 Spelling Bee of Canada
www.spellingbeeofcanada.ca
The Spelling Bee of Canada (SBOC) is an educational organization. It promotes educational
development among the youth, parents, teachers and the community at large.
The organization celebrates these developments through the achievements of their
stakeholders in various local and international educational events. Spelling Bee of Canada is a
registered charity.
Established back in the year 1987, the Spelling Bee of Canada (SBOC) has been involved in the
promotion of children and youth literacy aiming to enhance the learning experience of these
youngsters.
The Spelling Bee of Canada organizes annual spelling bees for kids between the ages of 6 and
14. Registered participants are then placed into one of three categories: Primary (6 to 8 years),
Junior (9 to 11 years) or, Intermediate (12 to 14 years).
Students over the ages of 14 go on to become mentors to the participants of their respective
regions.
They are dependent on local businesses, organizations and individuals to contribute time,
materials, services and/or funds. Their overall aim is to achieve the overall educational as well
as academic growth of the youth and community.
SOBC plans on establishing a national spelling bee that can have over a million participants.
They plan on doing this by regional outreach. The successful regional champions will go on to
the provincial championships, and then the national finals.
1.5.4.1 SBOC categories
SBOC organizes annual spelling bees for children between the ages of 6 to 14. Participants are
placed into one of the three available categories. Primary category is for ages 6 to 8. Junior
category is for ages 9 to 11. The intermediate age is 12 to 14.
Besides, students above the age of 15 go on to become mentors to participants in their
respective regions.
1.5.4.2 SBOC Prizes
Spelling Bee of Canada awards three position holders from each category. The winner, along
with the 2nd and 3rd position holders, are given cash prizes, trophies, certificates, and other
gifts.

1.5.4.3 The different stages of the Spelling bee of Canada
All registered participants are provided with a study booklet with the official spelling bee words
and spelling bee word lists. They are also given lessons via coaching sessions.
At the start, they enter their regional competition as participant. Contestants are grouped
based on the three categories mentioned above. Regional competitions are held in association
with the Community Spelling Bee (includes those children – public and/or private - whose
schools are not a part of the Family of Schools at that point in time) or the School’s Spelling
Bee (Family of Schools).
Winners from the regionals move on to the next rounds.
Each region is known as a SOBC Chapter. There are more than 30 such regions operating at the
moment under the Spelling Bee of Canada.

1.5.5 European PTA
https://europeanpta.weebly.com/spellingbee.html
The European Parent Teacher Association organizes this spelling bee for all DoDEA schools in
Europe. This spelling bee is also held in association with the Scripps National Spelling Bee,
United States.
Students take part in this spelling bee and position holders go on to participate in the European
rounds, and then winners from there go straight to Washington to join the Scripps National
Spelling Bee.
1.5.6 UNC Adult Spelling Bee
https://humanities.unc.edu/programs/nightlabs/adult-spelling-bee
The University of North Carolina undertook the program for organizing spelling bees for adults.
That is how the UNC Adult Spelling Bee came to be!
The door to this spelling bee is open for all adults for a ticket price of just $6.
Although the spelling bee is for adults, the participants are eased into the competition just like
in normal spelling bees. They start out with easy words and gradually progress to harder ones.
UNC Adult Spelling Bee allows both single participation as well as participation in teams.

1.5.7 The Japan Spelling Bee
https://bee.japantimes.co.jp/
Established back in the year 2010, Japan Times Bee (now called ‘Japan Spelling Bee’) is the
only spelling bee competition organized in Japan. It is officially licensed by The Scripps National
Spelling Bee in the United States. The Japan Spelling Bee is Japan’s national level spelling bee
competition. This spelling bee is one of the most popular spelling bees around the world.
1.5.7.1 Purpose of the Japan Times Bee
The spelling bee has a long and overwhelming history. Ever since its inception about a century
ago in the United States, this spelling event has spread all across the globe, bringing young
minds together under a single roof as they test their spelling skills to the limit.
The spelling bee is one of the most competitive events organized for school children. The event
not only promotes this healthy competition among the participants, but it also helps develop
their spelling and vocabulary skills.
Apart from that, the spelling bee can also help them understand etymology, how root words
work, pronunciation, and so on.
Japan is one of the most developed and academically advanced countries in the world. To
ensure further development of the youth, they adopted the spelling bee. Collaborating with the
Scripps Spelling Bee, the Japan Times Bee has gone on to become quite popular.
1.5.7.2 Registration and enrollment
Firstly, schools willing to participate at the Japan Spelling Bee are to register at the Scripps
Spelling Bee website as well as at the Japan Spelling Bee website. Not being able to follow this
procedure will result in the failure of the spelling bee registration.
Then, the registered schools are to organize a spelling bee among their respective students. The
winner from each of the participating school is then sent to the Japan Spelling Bee held in
March.
Finally, the champion is sent to the US to take part at the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals
held in the same year.
Note: Home schooled kids can participate in the Japan Spelling Bee too. In that case, they will
have to register with their affiliated school or institution, and that school or institution has to
be registered for the Japan Times Bee as well as for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, just like
the other schools. Home schooled kids will have to participate in the school bee of their
affiliated institutions.

1.5.7.3 Competition rules
Each speller has to spell their word out loud on stage. They are allowed to make request for the
definition of the word. The language of origin, and the use of the word in a sentence can also be
requested.
Spellers, however, are not allowed to go back and change the order of their spelling once they
have misspelled a word or delivered a letter out loud which they then realize is wrong.

1.5.8 African Spelling Bee
http://africanspellingbee.com/
The African Spelling Bee was established in 2016 by separate spelling bee organizations from all
over the African continent. The first ever African Spelling Bee was held in the same year in
Johannesburg, South Africa. A total of 27 champions from the 10 or so participating African
countries came together at this event.
This initiative was undertaken to help African school children learn better. The ultimate goal of
this was to achieve the overall development of their youth and shape them as citizens who can
pass on certain values to the society.
According to the authorities, this spelling bee program has gone on to impact over 10 million
learners across Africa.
1.5.8.1 Participating countries
At present, there are 18 countries involved with the African Spelling Bee. These spelling bees
and their respective countries are listed below:
1. Benin: BENIN BEE
2. Botswana: SPELLING BEE BOTSWANA
3. Ethiopia: ETHIOPIAN SPELLING BEE
4. Ghana: NATIONAL HARD SPELL AND QUIZ CONTEST
5. Kenya: KENYA NATIONAL SPELLING BEE
6. Lesotho: THE ROYAL SPELLING BEE
7. Liberia: YOCEL
8. Malawi: NATIONAL SPELL MASTER SPELLING BEE
9. Nigeria: NIGERIA SPELLING BEE
10. Rwanda: BRAIN TEASERS RWANDA
11. South Africa: MZANSI SPELLING BEE and SPELL IT SOUTH AFRICA
12. Tanzania: TANZANIAN SPELLING BEE
13. Uganda: UGANDA SPELLING BEE
14. Zimbabwe: ZIMBABWE SPELLING BEE
Besides the ones in the list, Zambia, Tunisia, Gambia, and Sierra Leon also organize spelling bee
contests in association with the African Bee.

1.5.9 Mexican MEXTESOL Spelling Bee
https://mextesol.org.mx/national-spelling-bee/
Mexican MEXTESOL Spelling Bee is organized by MEXTESOL, which stands for the Mexican
Association of Teachers of English, A. C. It is an academic organization aiming to develop the
English language (both in terms of speaking and writing) among its members as well as non-
members.
MEXTESOL is also involved with the development of teachers and research methods that
involves English linguistics.
In order to expand their vision, MEXTESOL organizes the MEXTESOL National Bee for
students of both primary (fifth and sixth grade) as well as for secondary school students.
A total of 50 students are allowed to participate in each spelling bee contest. These spelling bee
contests are limited to schools where English is not that often used as a language or in
academic classes. This is done to focus efforts into the development of those school children
who are deprived of proper inclusion of the English language in their academic curriculum.
1.5.9.1 Registration for Mexican MEXTESOL Spelling Bee
Registration is to be completed through one’s school. The applications are heavily scrutinized as
the seats for the spelling bee is very limited.

Section 2: Preparing for Spelling Bee
Preparing for
Spelling Bee
2
SECTION 2

2.2.1 Spelling Bee preparation
We all know that spelling bee is a prestigious competition where a lot of is at stake. So, to make
your child ready for the national championship, you need to focus diligently on his preparation.
According to several past spelling bee winners, it takes years to prepare well for a spelling bee
contest.
While many people think of the spelling bee as a dull and simple memory competition, this is
not entirely true. To prepare well for the spelling bee, one has to stay disciplined, work hard
and practice often.
At the same time, a speller has to understand the roots, patterns and origins of various words.
When a speller learns the language patterns, there is very less need of memorizing words and
spelling bee contests become interesting.
spelling bee is more of a contest of one’s hard work than memory power. In the subsequent
sections, we will cover how you can prepare efficiently for spelling bee contest and improve
your odds of winning the National Spelling Bee Contest.

2.2.7 Building a Winning Strategy
Winning at a spelling bee requires more than just memorizing. Over the years, spelling bee
champions and position holders have gone on to talk about their winning strategies. In this
section, we will be taking a look at some of those strategies which you should follow if you want
to ace the upcoming spelling bee.
Write it down on your hand: When we tell you to write the words down on your hand, we are
not asking you to copy entire word lists on your hands and then get on stage at the spelling bee;
that is just wrong and you will be disqualified. So no, we are not asking you to do that!
But here is what you can and should do. Whenever you are asked to spell out a word, pretend
to write that word down on your hand. It is much easier to recall the spelling of the respective
word if you are writing it down. Now, you will not be provided with pen or paper at the spelling
bee stage. Hence, you have to make use of your hands and try to retain the spelling using this
technique.
Listen to the pronunciations: Read out the words aloud and let them sink inside your mind. If
possible, use online spelling bee platforms (check out Spelling Bee Ninja) to help you get the
accurate pronunciation of the words. Avoid using text to speech applications as these apps
often fail to give you the proper pronunciation.
Difficult words on sticky notes: Whenever you come face to face with a difficult word, write it
down on a sticky note using a large font and then stick it on your desk or any place else where
you have a clear view of the word. This will help you imprint the words in your mind and you
can visualize the spelling when you need to.
Hope you like a large crowd: How good are you at speaking in front of a large audience? If your
answer is ‘not so good’, you need to try and do something about it.
As you take the stage at the spelling bee competition, you will have to speak in front of a crowd
of thousands.
In addition to that, there will be hundreds of thousands of people watching from home on their
televisions. Having to spell in front of such a large audience is a daunting task. In order to come
out of this high pressure situation, you first need to have the confidence to get up there on that
stage.

Build up your confidence by regularly organizing mock spelling bee sessions at home in front
of your family.
As a parent or guardian, you too should motivate your children by sparing a bit of your family
time to help them work on their spelling skills as well as build confidence.
Teachers should also take the initiative of holding practice spelling sessions at school.
You need to take part in these sessions willingly, otherwise, stage fright just might get the
better of you at the competition, no matter how well prepared you are with your word lists.
Time is valuable vocabulary: If you are aiming for the top of the pedestal, you must value the
time you have left before the competition. Spelling bee position holders do not waste their
time.
You need to do the same and get your priorities straight. Plan out your day to day activities for
the month before the spelling bee kicks off. Keep track of your progress and plan accordingly
for the next day or week. You are allowed to take breaks of course, but do not let these breaks
get the better of you.
Behind every successful speller, there is a dictionary: When asked to share their secrets for a
successful spelling bee campaign, the spelling champions of the last few years recommended
participants to grow a habit of reading the dictionary. This might sound hard and redundant at
first, but when you think deeply about it, it will surely start making sense.
Dictionaries contain in-depth analysis of all the words that fit in the English language including
their meanings, diacritics, root words, pronunciations, and so on. Most of the words included in
the dictionary are already known to you. You just need to find out the ones which seem hard.
Both Merriam Webster as well as the Oxford dictionary will serve your purpose. The spelling
bee champs, however, prefer the Merriam Webster dictionary over the Oxford one.
Head over to the Spelling Bee Ninja website: When it comes to EdTech spelling bee platforms,
Spelling Bee Ninja (SBN) is one of the best ones out there. We provide you nothing but the best
in terms resources, platform, and information regarding anything and everything related to
spelling bees.
Our platform contains spelling word lists from grade 1 all the way to high school, along with
additional word lists of a higher difficulty level. You can also import custom word lists into the
platform for your use.

If you are Using Spelling Bee Ninja, please consider
the training method explained in the paragraph:
“Training strategy using the Smart Trainer”
In section 3 of this manual.
Unlike other spelling bee platforms, SBN does not provide the facilities of games or puzzles. This
platform takes a professional approach for teaching its users, and manages to make it
interesting all the while.
Check out the following section to know more about Spelling Bee Ninja, and what we have to
offer, if you are using Spelling Bee Ninja for your preparation, please follow the technique at
paragraph: “Training strategy using the Smart Trainer” in the next section.

2.2.2 How to spell in English Language?
Spelling Bee is a competition where you have to master the skill of learning to spell. While it
may seem like a daunting task at first (Merriam Webster dictionary has 470,000 words in total),
it becomes manageable when you learn how to spell in the English language.
English is a complex language- it has derived words and patterns from different languages like
Greek, French, German, Latin, etc. making it really difficult to master. There is no specific
pattern for spellings, which can make children fearful about learning to spell in the English
language.
But like every structured subject, English language can also be mastered when you go deeper
into the study of how words originated and how to manage a complex spelling on your own.
In the modern times, there are several tools to help you spell – spell checks, word lists and
automated tools to improve your spelling skills. But you need to master your personal spelling
skills before using any tool. To succeed in spelling a complex word, you should know about the
word first.
Being informed or clueless is the difference between a winner and someone who is just doing it
for fun. Naturally, this means you need to research, focus and often practice with words you
know and the ones you haven’t even heard of.
2.2.3 Useful Technique to Help You Spell a Difficult Word
Here follows the first simple basic rules to follow when spelling a word, please write this down
and memorize because they are as simple as they are important.
Step 1: Break Down the Word
Before you attempt to spell the word, you should separate the complete word into distinct
parts. This makes a spelling more manageable when it comes to spelling. You should try
pronouncing each part individually- focusing on one syllable at a time.
When you break down a word, your brain suddenly starts comprehending the individual
syllables automatically. Take the example of the word ‘opportunistic’. This would break down to
‘op-por-tu-nis-tic’. That’s how you can train your brain to understand better and spell out
correctly.
Step 2: Simplify the Word
There are several words in the English language that can be broken down into a simpler form –
its root form. You should try to identify the root of each word you come across.

The easiest way to find out to root of any word is to remove any suffix and prefix.
What is a Suffix?
A suffix is a letter or a group of letters added to the end of a word to alter its meaning or to
ensure it fits grammatically into a sentence.
What is a Prefix?
A prefix is a letter or a group of letters which is placed before the root of a word. Adding it to
the beginning of one word changes it into another word.

Suffix Prefix
-acy ante-
-al anti-
-ance, -ence circum-
-dom co-
-er, -or de-
-ism dis-
-ist em-, en-
-ity, -ty epi-
-ment ex-
-ness extra-
-ship fore-
-sion, -tion homo-
-ate hyper-
-en il-, im-, in-, ir-
-ify, -fy im-, in-
-ise, -ize infra-
-able, -ible inter-, intra-
-al macro-
-esque micro-
-ful mid-
-ic, -ical mis-
-ious, -ous mono-
-ish non-
-ive omni-
-less para-

Joint Suffixes & Prefixes in English Language
-y post-
-ly pre-
-ward, -wards re-
-wise semi-
sub-
super-
therm-
trans-
tri-
un-
uni-

2.2.4 Common Spelling Rules
 A common rule like this (‘I’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’) can help in figuring out that words
with an ‘ee’ vowel sound will be spelled as “shield” (‘I’ before ‘e’) and ‘receive’ (except
after ‘c’).
 When adding a suffix to an English word ending with an ‘e,’ you generally drop the ‘e’
that starts with a vowel (like ‘-ing’ or ‘-able’) and keep it when adding a suffix starting
with a consonant (like ‘-ment’ or ‘-ly’). Using this rule, you can figure-out that ‘homeless’
and ‘homely’ will both keep the ‘e’ at the end of ‘home’ while ‘moving’ and ‘unmovable’
will both drop the ‘e’ from ‘move.’
 When adding a suffix beginning with a vowel (-ing, -y, or –ed) in a one syllable word with
one short vowel and ending in one consonant, double the final consonant.
drip: dripping, dripped, drippy wet: wetter, wettest win: winner, winning
 When adding a suffix beginning with a vowel (-ing, -y, or –ed) to the final syllable in two
or three-syllable words with one short vowel, if the final syllable is accented, and ending
in one consonant, double the final consonant.
infer: inferring omit: omitted begin: beginning happen: happening
 Before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, drop the final e.
dine: diner late: later fame: famous invite: inviting
 Before adding a suffix beginning with a consonant, keep the final e.
 I before E except after C unless it sounds like A
 English words do not end in V or J
 Q always needs U
 Y changes to I when added suffix starts with E
 Al- is a prefix written with one L when preceding another syllable
 -Ful is a suffix written with one L when added to another syllable
 "S" Never Follows "X"
 "C" Makes Two Sounds
 Short Vowels Sound Only Need One Vowel
 Double the "F," "L," and "S" in One Syllable Words
 Drop the Final "E" After a Suffix
 Prefixes (Generally) Don't Change the Spelling

 Suffixes Don't Have to Change the Spelling

2.2.5 How to prepare for Spelling Bee?
By now, you might have realized that you will need a proper learning and preparation strategy
if you are serious about winning the spelling bee.
The first and most important rule of preparation is to practice. The more you practice, the
better you will become. So, discipline, punctuality, and commitment towards a routine are
critical if you want to prepare for spelling bee.
The more people you will talk to, the more you will get confused about how to prepare
efficiently. So, it’s better to stick to the basics and create your personal preparation strategy.
Here are some critical steps that will help you get started with spelling bee preparation.
1. Solidify your Spelling Basics
Before you get serious about anything else, you will need to build a firm grip over the basics of
spelling. Though the English language has a lot of exceptions, some basic spelling rules would
apply in most of the cases.
It is advisable to get hold of a few standard rules, the ones listed in the previous paragraph, to
improve your personal spelling skills.
A great way to grasp spelling rules faster is to use examples to illustrate the rule’s applicability.
2. Pay Heed to Etymology
Etymology is the study of the origin of words. To master at a spelling bee contest, you need to
have a solid knowledge of where a word was originated. The English language is heavily
influenced by several foreign languages like Latin, French, Greek, Italian, etc.
When you learn the art of getting to the origins, you will learn to deal with exceptions.
Generally, the words derived from other languages don’t comply with the rules of English
grammar and pronunciation.
If you start paying heed to the origins, you will learn how to identify patterns in words that
come from same foreign language. Etymology will help you spell words that you are clueless
about. If you can identify the root of a word by discovering its origins, you will be able to spell it
right.
A great way to prepare is to discover and learn words based on language grouping technique-
group words coming from the same language in a single group.
3. Be Attentive Always

Great spellers are always attentive. They observe and evaluate every word they come across,
no matter where they are. So, if you want to improve your spelling skills, make sure to imbibe
the practice.
No matter what you are reading – a comic, novel, or your science textbook, when you come
across a new word, learn more about it. Check where the word comes from, how to use the
same and other information you can find.
This will broaden your perspective, even when you are not glued to browsing the dictionary or
preparing meticulously.
4. Make ‘Dictionary’ your Best Friend
Scripps National Spelling Bee uses ‘Merriam Webster Unabridged Dictionary’ as their official
dictionary. So, you will also have to refer to the same for the correct spelling.
When you have a comprehensive resource by your side, you should make it your reference
material. While other techniques like using study guides and lists help, you should not reduce
the importance of going through the dictionary over and over again.
This will ensure that you are never ever surprised by a new word. If you manage to go through
and learn the words in the dictionary, you will be in a better position to rock in Local, Regional
and National Spelling Bee Competitions.
5. Create Your spelling bee Word Lists
Once you learn to make dictionary a part of your life, you can smarten your efforts by creating
your own personalized lists. While there is a lot of material available online and schools also
provide customized word lists, it is better to create your own word list.
Word list, as the name suggests, is a long list of words that you should know. It can serve as a
great reference point for quick revision and can also help in garnering interest towards longer
word lists.
6. Learn How to Deal with Silent Letters
Silent letters can be a disappointment for many spellers. There are many spelling examples
where a letter is not pronounced but is in the spelling. Many spellers have failed to include the
same in spellings.
To tame the silent letters, you should practice with such words more often. Many words with
foreign origin like ‘psychology’ can be confusing. (just an example, though). The best way to
deal with them is to go through such words again and again. If you are a teacher or parent, give
the child enough examples so he/she can understand how to manage words with silent letters.
7. Follow proven concepts and strategies

There are many strategies spellers use to remember the words they practice and learn. These
strategies can help you improve your spelling skills.
One common strategy is to create a ‘Trace, Copy & Remember’ Guide for yourself.
To get started with this method, you need to create three columns on a piece of paper.
Write all the words you need to learn in the ‘Trace’ column. In the ‘Copy’ column, write down
the word again and again. Then cover both the columns and try writing the word in ‘Remember’
column.
Try again and again and you will learn the spelling this way. All the words you successfully write
in the ‘Remember’ column are the words you have mastered. This is a great technique if you
are working on your own and need a lot of practice.
These tips will help you get started with spelling bee preparation. But if you are more serious
about preparation, get hold of some useful tips in the following section of the book.

2.2.6 Useful Preparation Tips
Everyone wants to become a spelling bee champion, but if you want to succeed, you need to
study deeply and get a grip over words and spellings. In this section, we will outline some useful
tips that will help you become a spelling bee champion.
A clever speller does not just prepare diligently but smartly to make sure they make the most
out of the opportunity to win. The tips, tricks and techniques mentioned below will help you
hone your skills as a speller.
Tip 1: Sharpen Your Observation Skills
If you are preparing for a spelling bee, you should not just focus on the dictionary. Instead, you
should start observing things around yourself. If your child is planning to participate in spelling
bee, take him/her to local spelling bee. Ask him to see how other contestants approach a word.
spelling bee is not just about spellings but building a calm demeanor to avoid silly mistakes and
deal with on-stage pressure. When a child observes all this, he/she will be able to improve the
skills. Also, observation is also suggested in everyday life.
Ask your child to observe new words, new phrases, new spellings, everywhere. When you are at
the mall and see a foreign word or brand, ask your child to research about it.
Tip 2: Prepare Orally
While it is good to prepare on paper, spelling bee competition is about oratory and oral spelling
skills. Most children are introverts and are shy to speak on stage. So, you need to start
encouraging them to speak more often.
Sit with your child and take his/her oral spelling tests. Prepare a dummy stage at your home
and imitate the environment of spelling bee competition. Just preparing on paper would not
help your child much as it will not build his/her confidence.
As you know, the final rounds are oral, you will need to prepare your child for the oral test, too.
Also, motivate your child to speak in front of the audience as spelling bee rounds will have real
audience. Many contestants fail to face the audience and lose. Make sure you pay attention to
this aspect through motivation, encouragement and building opportunities to speak for your
child.
Tip 3: Build Focus by Studying Alone
Ask your child to study alone. This will help in building concentration levels and promote
discipline. While group studies are fun, it often leads to confusion and wastage of time. To
prepare for a competition like spelling bee, one needs to focus more than anything else.

Also, if you are thinking of hiring an instructor or supervisor, you should consider it again. A
child must be able to handle problems and prepare a preparation schedule on his/her own. The
more effort one makes on his/her own; more are the chances of success.
It is better to guide your child once in a while, but his preparation journey should be inclined
towards solitary study. This will also protect him/her against distractions and taking collective
wins as personal wins. As spelling bee is an individual contest, one should learn to deal with
problems and find solutions individually, too.
Tip 4: Discover Shortcomings & Limitations by Taking Tests
Studying is just half of the battle. The other half – evaluation is more important. Taking regular
tests helps understand one’s limitations and problems. If you are preparing your child, you
should have a mechanism to enable him to take spelling tests.
When a child takes tests, he understands where he/she lacks in preparation. Also, this helps to
find similarities between different words. Routinely evaluating performance leads to
improvement. As it is said, no plan can be successful without a system to measuring the
outcome. Similarly, your plan to make your child win cannot be successful if you don’t have a
yardstick for measuring his/her improvement.
You don’t want your child to face competition on the spelling bee day itself. So, it’s better to
give him regular tests to explore problems and taking corrective measures to improve his/her
skills.
Tip 5: Leverage Online Tools & Resources
In the digital world, there are innumerably resources available online to practice and prepare
for spelling bee. So, a speller should not limit the preparation to just dictionary and self-
prepared spelling lists. There are many study guides, encyclopedias and readily available
spelling lists that one can use to improve his/her skills.
Also, in the modern age, software and apps make our everyday life easier. Similarly, there are
dedicated software for spelling bee preparation like Spelling Bee Ninja. These software and
online tools are a complete package consisting of popular spelling lists, test emulators, global
ranking charts and a lot many dedicated features that can help in holistic preparation. So, one
should always keep his perspective broad and focus on tools and resources that can help the
resources.
These tips would help your child or student in preparing effectively for the spelling bee
competition.
While this is a great way to level up your preparing efforts, you still need a winning strategy if
you want to make a mark. In the following sections, you will learn how to create a personal
winning strategy that would help you win at Local, Regional and National Spelling Bee. Every

champion has a strategy. It’s time you build and refine your own too if you are really serious
about winning spelling bee.
2.2.8 Practicing for Spelling Bee
Over the decades, spelling bees have been known to foster healthy competition and breed
academic excellence amongst its participants. As time went by, these competitions saw an
influx of young minds who were participating in these contests to not only win it, but to also
nurture their own minds.
With the global expansion of spelling bees, both on a national level as well as on a regional level,
the competition has only gone on to become tougher. If you want to become a spelling bee
champion, you need to think and practice like one too. Here, in this section, we will show you
how you should train yourself or your children for the upcoming spelling bee, and what you
need to do to ensure maximum success.
Gather up your word lists: The very first thing you need to as part of your preparations for the
spelling bee is gather up word lists. Word lists are the most integral part of any spelling bee
preparation. These lists are composed to help participants understand the level of the
competition and to familiarize them with the words that are often asked to be spelled out at
the competitions.
You can gather these word lists in a number of ways. The best places to look for these lists are
the competition websites. Competitions such as the Scripps National Spelling Bee, publish these
lists on their websites and update them when necessary. Apart from this, you can also try out
the spelling bee word lists offered by different EdTech or online spelling bee platforms like
Spelling Bee Ninja. You will see that these platforms have a specific word list for every grade.
This makes it easier for participants to know what they are up against and the level they need
to reach if they want to make it far in the world of spelling bees.
Separating the unknown from the known: As you go through the word lists, you will encounter
words which are either unknown to you or are difficult for you to memorize. In such cases, you
must isolate these words into a separate list and give them extra importance as they are
seemingly more difficult compared to the rest.
Visualizing the spelling: You must remember that human memory is more adept at capturing
visual details than everything else. You will stand a better chance at memorizing a word if you
can imagine the spelling of that word visually.
For instance, let us assume that you are trying to memorize the word ‘exaggerate’. What you
can do is write down this word with a large font on a piece of paper or on your desktop, and

then stare at it for a good 30 seconds or so as you keep spelling it out. This technique will help
imprint the word in your mind in a visual manner which will surely pop up in your head every
time you hear the word or try to spell it out.
Learning the root words: Whenever you come across a complex word which looks difficult to
spell, try breaking it down to its root words or its source words. For example, hydrophilic which
comes from the words hydro (meaning water) and -phil (meaning love or affinity). Hydrophilic
refers to something that can dissolve in water or something that has an attraction towards
water.
Almost all complex words like the one in the example or a bit more difficult, can be broken
down into smaller parts, each with its own meaning. If you find difficulty in memorizing the
whole word in one go, you ought to try and memorize its root words or the simple words that
join together to form the complex one.
Scheduling practice sessions: If practice can make a man perfect, it can very well make your
child a topnotch speller. The key is to have regular practice sessions conducted over a certain
period before the spelling bee hits off. There is no particular standard that has to be followed
for having practice sessions. Different people have different retention capabilities. For some, it
takes longer to learn a new word compared to others, and that is absolutely fine. Work out
your own retention capabilities by experimenting with words, time to memorize each spelling,
and how long it takes for you to be able to retain those words on a short notice (for instance,
you just randomly want to spell out that particular word). Based on this information, you can
design your own schedule.
Learning diacritics to get familiar with the pronunciations: Diacritics refer to the special
symbols or marks which are added to letters to indicate a special or changed pronunciation of
the letters. These marks are very important for spelling bee competitions as pronunciation of
the words are heavily dependent on them.
During the spelling bee, you will have to spell out the word by paying close attention to the
word’s pronunciation. A good practice is to learn the diacritics of various pronunciations from
the word lists and to practice them on a daily basis. Train your ear and your mind to identify the
spelling of a word through the way it is pronounced.
Playing spelling games: Learning the spelling of a new word or trying to inherit new vocabulary
can be a monotonous task. However, thanks to modern EdTech platforms, you do not have to
worry about your children being bored to death while they prepare themselves for the
upcoming spelling bee.
The online interactive learning platforms developed by these EdTech companies are indeed an
amazing and fun way of learning spellings. These platforms contain different types of games
and puzzles which can import your desired word list (or you can choose one from their own
system) and set up the games accordingly.

If you want your kids or students to prepare for spelling bee competitions, but cannot get them
to pay attention to their 'plain word sheets', you should definitely switch to this intriguing new
way of learning spellings. Most of these platforms come with their own mobile applications,
usually for both Android and iOS, which you can download for your mobile or tablet. Kids love
spending time on smart gadgets these days, so why not get them into learning something new
while they enjoy themselves?
Practicing with your friends: Gather up all your spelling bee friends and have some fun among
yourselves! Organize a mini spelling bee in your own backyard or your school. This sort of in-
house or in-class spelling bee sessions should be highly encouraged among parents and
teachers. This will help students practice for the main event and at the same time, will assist
them in overcoming their stage fright (if they have it).
Read, write, and repeat: Apart from the materials provided by the spelling bee websites and
other online spelling bee platforms, you should build up a habit of reading anything you can
find. Books, newspapers, and blogs are good resource materials for learning new vocabulary.
But reading through the lines will not be of any use if you cannot manage to retain the words
you have just learned. It is always a good practice to keep a small notepad around you at all
times so that you can practice by writing the word down. Write down every new or difficult
word you come across and practice it at least 15-20 times. Throughout the day, you are likely to
come across 3-5 new words by going through these random reading materials.
Remember, practicing will only bear you fruit when you do it repeatedly. So do not just stop
after a week or so. Keep it at and you are sure to ace that spelling bee.

2.2.9 How to face a Spelling Bee
No matter how well your preparation is or how well you performed in your school’s mock
spelling bees, if you fail to deliver at the main competition, all of the hard work you put in will
end in vain.
Preparation is key, but taking your preparation and being able to deliver it is something
participants often fail to achieve. Most of the attendees at the spelling bee fail to live up to
their expectations, not because of their poor preparation, but because of their inability to make
it count at the actual event.
There are a lot of spelling bee participants who, despite of their poor preparation, end up going
quite far in the competition.
All this is possible because of the skill or ability they have when it comes to facing the spelling
bee. In this paragraph, we will explore the steps that will enable you and all other participants
to take on the spelling bee in the right way, and to face the competition head on.
Rule 1: Knowing the rules and structure of the competition
Before you even get up on the stage, it is crucial that you know about the competition’s rules,
regulations, and all other related guidelines.
Remember, each competition is entitled to their own set of rules and regulations. Hence, it is
important that you are fully aware of these rules and regulations.
If you are not familiar with these instructions before the day of the competition, do not worry.
The host or panel at the spelling bee will surely announce the instructions at the start of the
competition. Make sure you are paying attention to the competition announcements.
Rule 2: Listen to the word carefully
As the host or announcer of the event dictates the word for you to spell out, make sure your
full concentration is on him or her and the word being dictated. You will then be requested to
spell out the word letter by letter.
Rule 3: Clear out your confusions
It is natural that participants might fail to grasp the word at the very first attempt. In this case,
feel free to ask the host to repeat the word.
If the arena is too noisy for you to listen to the dictation properly, you can let the host or panel
know, and they will in turn, ask the audience to maintain silence. If you face problems with the
host’s pronunciation, you can tell them about it as well.
Rule 4: Ask them the meaning and/or root words

There are a lot of words that have the same pronunciation but their meanings are completely
different from one another. These words are indeed very confusing to the participants who are
likely to mistake one word for another.
In order to avoid such mistakes or confusions, ask the host to tell you the meaning of the
provided word. If necessary, you can ask them to identify the root words for you as well. Do not
hesitate to ask such questions as you have the full authority to do so. The panel at the spelling
bee will in no way be annoyed at you or any other participants for asking such relevant
questions.
Rule 5: Tell them to use it in a sentence
Despite knowing the meaning of the word and its origin or root words, there is a chance that
you will still not be able to understand it. It is also natural that you might want to know a bit
more about the word before you proceed to spell it out. Under such circumstances, request the
host to use the word in a sentence.
Participants familiarize themselves with the spelling bee words in a lot of ways. One such way is
through the use of sentences. Thus, asking the panel or the host to use the provided word in a
sentence can help you understand the word better which might just assist you in retaining its
spelling.
Rule 6: Avoid responding quickly, even if you are sure
Hurrying can lead to unforeseen problems. No matter how good you are at something, if you
tend to do it quickly or in a hasty manner, chances are high that you are going to ruin it.
You will not be penalized for taking your time while spelling out the given word. Hence, you do
not need to respond quickly, even if you are fully confident of the spelling. When you try to
spell quickly, there lies the possibility that you will forget to say a letter or two, or you could
misspell the word unknowingly. For instance, you may know the spelling of the word ‘e-x-a-g-g-
e-r-a-t-e’. But, if you go on to spell it quickly, you might forget about the second ‘g’ in the
spelling, or might spell it as ‘e-x-eg-g-e-r-a-t-e’. So you see, hurrying will not get you anywhere
at the spelling bee.
Rule 7: Write the word on your palm with your finger
Imagine that your finger is a pen or a pencil, and your other hand is a small piece of paper.
When you are given the word by your host at the spelling bee, start writing it out one letter at a
time in your palm with your other finger.
This helps you to visualize the word better and recognize any mistakes before you spell it out
on stage.Also, try writing the words on your palm with your finger while you're practicing for
the spelling bee as this will help you to visualize the word better and get acquainted with the
motions.

Rule 8: Deliver the spelling confidently
This has more to do with your personal appeal than the actual spelling itself. However,
delivering the spelling in a confident manner shows your boldness. It makes you stand out from
the participants who are rather nervous. You might even end up having a fan club of your own!
Note: It is important for you to know the difference between confidence and arrogance.
Rule 9: Stay mentally prepared for harder words
As you make progress at the spelling bee, it is natural that the words you will be facing will only
get harder. From one syllable to di-syllables, to words that have a lot of silent letters, your
spelling bee will keep on getting harder and harder.
It is thus important for you to be on your toes. To be prepared for anything they throw at you.
Remember, you have trained for this. You know that it is going to come for you. You just have
to be mentally prepared to take it head on.
As you can tell, facing a spelling bee is not that easy. However, if you follow these steps, you
will surely do a lot better in facing the challenges. So go out there and have a go at the spelling
bee head on, with full confidence!

2.2.10 Preparing for spelling bee when it’s late
The biggest spelling bee of the season is right around the corner. All your friends are hard at
work. They are determined to leave no stone unturned in order to achieve glory at this year’s
spelling bee.
From word lists to practice sheets, your peers have completed them all. From words that are
easy to spell, to the ones that can twist your tongue, they have mastered them all.
In short, they are fully prepared to take on the challenges that are about to be thrown into their
way at the spelling bee.
And then, there is you.
You took procrastination to a whole new level as you went on delaying your preparations for
the spelling bee, and now it's too late. What do you do now? Is this season's spelling bee over
for you before it even started?
Believe it or not, there is still some hope for you. Although you have wasted a lot of time, you
can still make up for it. Preparing for the spelling bee when it's already too late is a daunting
task, but it is anything but impossible.
Let’s explore the steps you need to follow to prepare for the upcoming spelling bee no matter
how late you’re.
Note: Under general circumstances, if you have around 30 days before the spelling bee kicks off,
you are pretty much in the clear and you will not need to rush your preparations. In this
paragraph we will focus on the preparation steps you will have to take when you have less than
15 days to prepare.
Step 1: Calculate how much time you have in your hand
Assuming that you have less than 15 days at hand, your first and foremost task is to take a good
look at the calendar and find out how many days you have remaining. Once you have calculated
the time you have at hand, you will be able to understand how much cramming you have to do.
This step will serve two different but very important purposes.
Firstly, you will be aware of how late you are and how much time you have to fit in all the work.
Secondly, as your preparation deadline is right there knocking on your front door, you are likely
to be hit by a sense of slight fear which can further help your fuel your cramming sessions.

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