Spelling bees display students' knowledge of the language.
A spelling bee encourages competition and learning. Unlike other competitions, in which a team or single player wins by amassing the most points spelling bees assign a champion by eliminating participants during each round. All participants eliminated in each round are then tied for the same place. If the last remaining participant spells her word correctly, that participant must then go to the next round where she will be given an additional word to spell.
Instructions
1. Set a date, time and place for the spelling bee. It is important all participants arrive no later than 30 minutes prior to the start time. If there will be an audience, consider setting up a microphone for the participants to use during competition. You will also need chairs for the audience and participants.
2. Pick a pronouncer and judges. The pronouncer's role is to correctly pronounce each word for the spelling bee participants. The pronouncer is also responsible for using the word in a sentence, giving the definition of the word or other information about the word's origin at the speller's request. The judges will determine whether the speller has correctly spelled the word.
3. Give the participants a study list of possible words. This is not a requirement but its helpful for the participants.
4. Words should start off easy and gradually become more difficult, so organize your word list accordingly. You will also need several rounds, each round is designed to eliminate participants for spelling their assigned word incorrectly. The remaining participants will go on to the next round. There is no set amount of rounds. Depending upon the success of the participants, a spelling bee can easily exceed 10 rounds. You must have enough words to get through each round. For 30 participants, plan a list of at least 500 words.
5. Print numbers for each participant. The numbers should be printed clearly on a piece of copy paper and pinned to the participant's clothing. This is optional but it helps to keep the spellers in order.
6. Discuss the rules of the spelling bee with the participants. The pronouncer will say the word. The speller should then pronounce the word. The speller also has the option of asking the pronouncer for more information about the word. The speller must then spell the word. Before the word is completed, the speller may start over and retrace the letters of the word from the beginning, but the speller can't change the letters or the order of letters originally uttered.
