Celebrate Spelling with a Spelling Bee

A Backstory: About 10 years ago I was at my parents’ house, going through a box of items from my childhood, when I came across the spelling bee trophy I won in 4th grade. I clearly remember that night in the middle school gym, the green dress I wore, the back and forth between a fifth-grade boy and myself in the final rounds, and the word I finally missed, “riflery” (I spelled it with two F’s). Finding that trophy brought back great childhood memories, and it also sparked the idea to host a spelling bee at my school. At the time, I had been thinking a lot about spelling, and a spelling bee sounded like a fun way to call attention to the topic.

The Details: Over the past decade I have been organizing English and Spanish Spelling Bees for my dual language school. Here’s my Spelling Bee Coordinator checklist:

• Register school for the Scripps National Spelling Bee (our PTA covers the modest fee and there is an early-bird price for signing up by the end of October)
• Determine dates for class bees and the all-school bee (class bees happen 1-2 weeks before the all-school bee), usually February
• Copy and distribute word lists and a parent information letter to students 4-8 weeks before class bees happen
• Order trophies for the all-school bees
• Print certificates for class bees and the all-school bees
• Create a spreadsheet for classroom teachers to record the winners from their class bee going on to compete in the all-bee finals (1 or 2 students per class)
• Secure for the all-school bee: an announcer, a judge, microphones, nametags for competing students

The Impact: The Spelling Bee and Concurso de deletreo have become cherished annual events at my school. Students start asking me about them before winter break, and it’s always exciting to see students studying the word lists in the halls, at lunch, on the playground, etc. Parents have also reached out to me over the years to let me know what a difference it has made for their child who was recognized as a top speller in their class or the school. While Spelling Bees are not an instantaneous fix for spelling challenges, they do bring fun and joy to to an often disliked subject.

Go Deeper: For more information about hosting a spelling bee at your school, check out the websites for the Scripps National Spelling Bee or the National Spanish Spelling Bee.