During Fall Semester –

• Download all materials. Plan your spelling bee program from kick-off to end of bee.

• ​​Distribute study materials, procedures, timelines and rules to all involved.

• Conduct your School Bee. Report your Champion and Alternate.

• After Your School Bee - Give your School Champion and Alternate the study materials, date, location, and confirm transportation to the District/Regional Spelling Bee.

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PLAN YOUR BEE – Prepare and distribute study materials, procedures, timelines and rules to all involved. You may have classroom/grade bees that lead up to the school bee. Review the Pronouncer Guide and familiarize yourself with the correct pronunciations of the words. Secure a pronouncer and judges. Test the technology that will record your bee for playback if an appeal occurs.

 

RULES - Location of Rules (in your account at spellingbee.com) – On the blue navigation bar, click ‘School Spelling Bee’. At the top of the next page, click ‘Rules.

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For Classroom or Grade Level Bees

Location of Study Lists (in your account at spellingbee.com) – On the blue navigation bar, click ‘Classroom Spelling Bee’. At the top of the next page, click ‘Study Lists’.

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Study words are grouped into three levels of difficulty. Distribute to spellers a single level or a combination of levels, depending on your needs for classroom/grade level bees.

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For School Bee

Location of Study Lists (in your account at spellingbee.com) – On the blue navigation bar, click ‘School Spelling Bee’. At the top of the next page, click ‘Study Lists’.

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Spellers should receive the full 2020 School Spelling Bee Study List (450 words)… unless you intend to limit your school bee to lower grade level or high grade level words. If you do, make sure that the study words and the words called out in the bee are consistent. If you need assistance, contact the District Coordinator.

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Give your spellers the study lists with definitions to give context to the words. It’s okay to distribute definitions for a ‘spelling only’ bee. (The list with definitions is located under the heading. “If your bee will have spelling and vocabulary”.)

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PRONOUNCER GUIDE - FOR CLASSROOM/GRADE LEVEL AND SCHOOL BEE

For bee officials only. Keep the guides secure.

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For Classroom or Grade Level Bees

Classroom Pronouncer Guide (CPG)

Location of CPG (in your account at spellingbee.com) - On the blue navigation bar, click “Classroom Spelling Bee”. At the top of the next page, click "Competition Guides".

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The CPG has two types of words.

Words 1-225, selected from Study Words, Level “One/Two/Three” Lists

Words 226-250, “Additional Words”, not selected from Study Words (Additional Words are selected from Merriam-Webster Unabridged, copyright 2019, http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com)

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Middle School

Starting point is word 176.

When calling words from the Study Words section…if you reach the end of a round and do not have enough words to cover all of the spellers in the next round, jump to the Additional Words on page 36. Begin the next round with word 226.

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Pronouncer Guide for School Bee

School Pronouncer Guide (SPG)

Location of SPG (in your account at spellingbee.com) - On the blue navigation bar, click “School Spelling Bee”. At the top of the next page, click "Competition Guides".

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Procedure for Calling Words

The Spelling Bee will begin with words that Scripps selected from the Study List. Later in the bee, for the remaining spellers, you will call words that are NOT on the Study List. At first, these ‘Additional Words’ will seem easier than the ‘Study List Words’. However, the words were not given to the students in advance, and the words do progress in difficulty. It is important that you trust the process and conduct your bee as sequenced in the Pronouncer Guide. Do not mix words from the First Section with words from the Second Section.

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You may customize the Pronouncer Guide for the circumstances of your spelling bee. You may omit words. You may place words elsewhere on the list. However, if you choose to place words elsewhere on the list, avoid placing a Study word (any word with a number between 1 and 225) in the Additional Words section (any word with a number greater than 225) and vice versa.

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Preserve fairness by ensuring that all spellers spelling in the same round receive words from the same section of the SPG. A round should cover either School Spelling Bee Study List words or Additional Words — the sections should not be mixed. Example: At the beginning of Round __, nine spellers remain in the bee, but you have only six words remaining in the First Section. Do not call those six from the First Section + the first three words from the Second Section. Instead, skip to the Second Section and start the next round with, ‘Words from Merriam-Webster Unabridged‘. After your bee has progressed into the Second Section, never go back to call a word from the First Section.

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When your bee reaches the point (at the end of a round) where you are going to switch from calling School Spelling Bee Study List words 1-225, to calling Additional Words 226+, the following needs to be announced, “Spellers, we have reached the portion of the competition where we are moving into a different section. The words leading up to now were studied as part of the School Spelling Bee Study List. The source for the remaining rounds will be Merriam-Webster Unabridged. Although the next section of words might sound less difficult, you have not had the opportunity to study this list of words prior to today’s competition.”

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What if I run out of ‘Additional Words’?

If you run out of Section 2 words...do not go back and call out unused words. Do not get random words from the dictionary. Pause the bee to reconvene at a later time and contact the District Coordinator who will contact SNSB.

 

AFTER YOUR BEE - Report your Champion and Alternate, through your account at spellingbee.com. This information is very important for organizing the February Playoff Bees. Please report your school champion soon after you conduct your school bee. The absolute last day to report your champion is Friday, January 17, 2020.

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Prepare Your School Champion and Alternate for the Next Level of Competition

Location of ‘Words of the Champions’ (in your account at spellingbee.com) - On the blue navigation bar, click “School Spelling Bee”. At the top of the next page, click "Study Lists". Look for‘ Local Area Spelling Bee Study Lists’. Download, ‘Print-friendly version of 2020 Words of the Champions (PDF)’.

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Give your School Champion and Alternate the ‘Words of the Champions’ and bee information for the February District/Regional Bee. Specific date and location will be provided to you later.

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The District/Regional Bee will begin with words that Scripps selected from the ‘Words of the Champions’. Later in the bee, for the remaining spellers, words that are NOT in the ‘Words of the Champions’ will be called. At first, these ‘Additional Words’ will seem easier than the ‘Words of the Champions’. However, the words were not given to the spellers in advance, and the words do progress in difficulty.