The Rationale

NOTE: There will be no regional competition this school year.

Who can participate?

This program is for ALL JHS students

7th - 9th grade students

They do NOT have to be Native speakers!!

Introduce the idea to your class. Have the word lists ready and printed.
Show them the movie Acheela and the Bee.
Teach them the correct structure of a spelling bee: "Say the word, spell the word slowly, repeat the word to close your turn"
Break students up into small groups of three ("Spelling buddies") for practice. Allow students to practice for 10 minutes at the end of the lesson or if they complete their work before everyone else. They can study and "test" each other.
You can break up the words into your own smaller groups and have mini-spelling bees every two weeks.
Use the "sit down" method - have them stand up in front of class for the mini-spelling bee and if they make a mistake they sit down.
Dictations can also be used but they are A LOT LESS FUN!
Have the students who erred, mark the word they need to study more. Make it a learning experience and NOT a failure!
Once they know more and more words - make sure they can also use them in writing or speaking - not just spelling.
The Bands of words are good for them to know as vocabulary words not just for their spelling.
Take photos of them practicing and send on a class Whatsapp to encourage those who haven't decided if they want to participate.
Allow students to share strategies.
Let students lead other students who didn't want to try at the beginning.

1. Run mini Spelling Bees in each class. Choose 2 winners per class.

2. Run a school-wide Spelling Bee. Make it a big school event!

Publicize the dates early in the year, so all teachers are aware of the deadlines.
Make sure your staff is working with you
Gather up a list of all the students who want to participate from all of the classes who practiced.
Reserve a venue in the school for the event.
Advertise the event. Have students make posters and flyers to hand out.
Invite parents and school administration.
Consider who your audience will be.
Who will be your judges?
Print a list of words with sentences for the Spelling Bee, itself.
Print numbers for the students participating.
Print certificates of participation. (Here are some samples.)
Print certificates for the winners.
Have flowers, music, a clip of them practicing to show (have a student who isn't participating take photos or film).
Invite the principal to speak at the event.
Remind them of the structure of spelling and restating the word.
Encourage them to continue practicing even after the event.

The two finalists from the class Spelling Bee will represent their class at your school-wide Spelling Bee
You must make sure each teacher has filled out the form with the student names so you can make a list list of certificates and name tags.
Make sure that parents or other "cheerleaders" will be coming (not too many...)
Try and calm their nerves and yours :)

The communities are great ways to get this organized! If you do, be sure to share the details with your counselor.

Pay attention to how it is run, how they present the words, and the sentences they give.

Adapt the structure to your own personality and school.

Ask your counselor for more help if you need it.

School Spelling Bee 2020

Sylvia-HOW-TO-RUN-AN-ENGLISH-SPELLING-BEE (1)

Thanks to Peter Sokolowsky and the Internet....

Google Sites

Report abuse