What i s a

Spelli ng
Bee?
A Spelling Bee is a competition for students to spell words aloud letter by letter.
Students are eliminated if the spell a word incorrectly.
Why do we call the competition a Spelling Bee?
Several theories exist as to why the term Bee is used to refer to a spelling
competition. Many believe that the similarity between the social interactions among
humans is and social interactions among bees are similar to one another. Recently,
however, scientists have denounce this theory, and instead claim that the word "bee"
derives from the Old English word "bene", which means "prayer" or "service" and is
associated with a famous word "boon" meaning "grace.
Others suggest that the word "bee" is an abbreviated form of the English word
"been", which refers to "voluntary assistance provided by neighbors toward the
accomplishment of a particular task. Nevertheless, no one is precisely sure where
the term Bee, as used in the context of spelling, originated.
1
The Scripps sponsored National Spelling Bee is held annually in the United States. This
competition rst took place in Louisville, Ky., in 1925. It hosted just nine participants
in its inaugural year, and has since grown exponentially to include a very competitive
and diverse group of young American students. This past year, in its 83
rd
competition,
over 11 million students competed for the coveted title of National Spelling Bee
Champion. The competition has served as an inspiration to many countries across
the world to begin their own National English language spelling competitions. Some of
these countries include Canada, Armenia, China, and several countries in Western
Europe.

1
Origin of the Term Spelling Bee, Scripps National Spelling Bee, http://
www.spellingbee.com/origin-term-spelling-bee, 2010. All information regarding the
Scripps National Spelling Bee is cited from this source
Below are links to different English
language spelling bees throughout the
world:
http://www.spellingbee.com/ - ofcial site of
the Scripps National Spelling Bee
http://www.marrsspellingbee.com/ - this
spelling bee began in 2003, and has become
the largest spelling competition in Asia for
students. Currently, it hosts over 3,000,000
participants at the local level from more than
1000 schools. This competition is held in
places such as India, Nepal, and China.
http://www.timesspellingbee.co.uk/ - This
spelling bee began in the United Kingdom in
2008. Schools from England, Wales, Scotland,
and Northern Ireland
http://www.dawnspellingbee.com/ - This
spelling bee has been conducted in Pakistan
since 2005.
http://www.southasianspellingbee.com/
Below are links to different news video clips
of the Scripps National Spelling Bee:
h t t p : / / www. y o u t u b e . c o m/ wa t c h ?
v=SnKKpsuuF80&feature=related
h t t p : / / www. y o u t u b e . c o m/ wa t c h ?
v=ShI53aLLLyY&feature=related
h t t p : / / www. y o u t u b e . c o m/ wa t c h ?
v=P2w3W5kbOzw&feature=player_embedd
ed
Below are several links to funny spelling bee
videos:
h t t p : / / www. y o u t u b e . c o m/ wa t c h ?
v=VjzrNWPul9E
h t t p : / / www. y o u t u b e . c o m/ wa t c h ?
v=gJSlYSzqksU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=A8jwp5ou5hE
ON-LINE RESOURCES
What is a Spelling Bee?
8uIgorion MofionoI EngIish SpeIIing 8ee
Acfivifies fo Improve Sfudenfs SpeIIing
Purpose of Acfivifies: To provide sfudenfs wifh fhe opporfunify fo procfice
speIIing oIoud in fronf of cIossmofes ond oduIfs.
Why: If is imporfonf fhof sfudenfs become comforfobIe ond confidenf when
speIIing words oIoud in fronf of ofhers before fhe officioI compefifion begins.
Procfice wiII heIp fo oIIeviofe onxiefy fhof couId ofherwise prevenf sfudenfs from
performing weII during compefifion.
Procfice Time: If is recommended fhof feochers ond voIunfeers oIIocofe of Ieosf
five fo fen minufes of cIoss fime severoI fimes o week. You moy impIemenf procfice
fime during fhe beginning of cIoss or fowords fhe end of cIoss. Procfice fime moy
vory depending on fhe Iengfh of ony given schooI Iesson. In such coses, if is
odvisobIe fo deveIop o more consisfenf procfice roufine by sforfing on offer schooI
speIIing group. In generoI, fhere ore mony differenf opfions when deciding how fo
oIIocofe fime for procfice. If is up fo fhe feochers ond voIunfeers fo decide which
mefhods wiII work besf for you ond your sfudenfs.
Mofe: 0iven fime consfroinfs during schooI, if moy nof be possibIe for eoch sfudenf
fo hove fhe opporfunify fo procfice speIIing ouf Ioud. So, remember fhof whefher
or nof sfudenfs ore speIIing ouf Ioud or jusf quiefIy working on o speIIing worksheef,
fhe mosf imporfonf fhing is fhof fhe sfudenfs ore procficing in ony copocify.
Lisfed beIow ore severoI suggesfions ond descripfions for gomes ond ocfivifies fhof
ore usefuI ond fun when Ieorning o new Ionguoge.
0omes:
Cards: Creofe o deck of oIphobef cords. On eoch cord wrife one Ieffer of fhe
oIphobef ond Ieove fhe opposife side bIonk. PIoce or spreod fhe deck of cords foce
down on o fobIe. Sfudenfs moy rondomIy seIecf fwo fo fhree cords from which fhey
musf fhink of one word fhof incIudes eoch Ieffer seIecfed. The word moy incIude fhe
some Ieffer more fhon once. For exompIe, if o sfudenf drows o cord wifh on E on if,
he/she moy choose fo speII o word fhof incIudes more fhon one E.
Hangman: This gome requires on Execufioner ond Jury. SeIecf one sfudenf
from fhe cIoss fo be fhe Execufioner. The resf of fhe cIoss wiII moke up fhe Jury.
The Execufioner musf fhink of o word ond proceed fo drow fhe foIIowing:
I) Drow o posf ond o noose on fhe choIkboord (see beIow in Diogrom AI ond 8I)
Z) Drow fhe equivoIenf number of bIonk spoces os fhere ore Ieffers in fhe word
o. In fhe diogroms beIow fhe word chosen is CAP, fherefore, fhree bIonk
spoces nexf fo fhe honging posf hove been drown.
A. I. Z. 3. 4. b.
B.
When fhe Execufioner hos finished seffing up, he/she wiII coII one person from fhe
Jury of o fime fo guess o Ieffer. In Diogrom AZ you con see fhof o heod is drown
from fhe noose. A Jury member incorrecfIy guessed fhof fhe Ieffer T is porf of
fhe word. The Execufioner musf wrife down eoch incorrecfIy guessed Ieffer (os
shown obove in Diogroms A ond 8). This wiII prevenf confusion os fo which Ieffers hos
oIreody been guessed. The Jury confinues fo guess Ieffers unfiI fhere is o winner.
Diogrom A is on exompIe of fhe Execufioner winning - fhe body of fhe Hongmon wos
compIefeIy drown before fhe Jury wos obIe fo guess fhe correcf word.
Diogrom 8 is on exompIe of fhe Jury winning - fhe word CAP is compIefed before
fhe drowing of fhe Hongmons body hos been compIefed.
In generoI, fhe Hongmon is nof compIefeIy honged unfiI his heod, body, orms, ond
Iegs ore drown. However, you con modify fhe ruIes fo oIIow sfudenfs more guesses.
You con odd fhe hoir, eyes, nose, moufh, ond honds.
Bingo: SeIecf of Ieosf Z4 differenf speIIing words fo use for fhis gome. Wrife eoch
word on fhe boord. Hond eoch sfudenf o 8IM0O cord oIong wifh fokens used fo cover
up fhe spoces of fhe cord. Sfudenfs musf fiII in fhe spoces of fhe 8IM0O cord wifh
C A R C A C A C
T T E T E K T E K
C A C A C A C
T T E T E K T E K L
eoch of fhe Z4 words. Once fhe sfudenfs hove fiIIed in fheir cords, you need fo cover
or erose fhe Iisf of words on fhe boord.
To begin pIoying, coII o sfudenf fo sfond
where he/she connof see fhe 8IM0O cord.
PondomIy choose one of fhe speIIing words
for fhe sfudenf fo speII ouf Ioud. If fhe
sfudenf correcfIy speIIs fhe word, fhen eoch
person moy use o foken fo cover up fhe
word. If fhe sfudenf misspeIIs fhe word,
fhen no one is oIIowed fo cover fhe word
unfiI if is chosen ogoin ond is speIIed
correcfIy. Confinue fo choose differenf sfudenfs fo sfond ond speII eoch word ouf
Ioud unfiI someone hos coIIed ouf 8IM0Ol
A sfudenf musf cover five spoces in o row before he/she con soy 8IM0Ol (Diogrom
D beIow). The sfudenf musf fhen repeof fhe five words fo confirm fhof fhese words
were in focf previousIy seIecfed by fhe feocher ond speIIed correcfIy. Once
confirmed, fhe sfudenf musf sfond in fronf of fhe cIoss ond correcfIy speII eoch of
fhe five words. If fhe sfudenf correcfIy speIIs eoch word, fhen he/she is o winner.
If fhe sfudenf does nof correcfIy speII eoch of fhe five words, fhen fhe gome
confinues unfiI onofher sfudenf coIIs ouf
8IM0Ol ond is obIe fo correcfIy speII eoch
of fhe five words.
Diogroms C ond D ore exompIes of 8IM0O
cords. Diogrom C shows whof o cord shouId
Iook Iike prior fo pIoying. Diogrom D shows
whof o 8IM0Ol Iooks Iike. Mofice fhof
fhere is o FPEE spoce Iocofed in fhe cenfer
of fhe cord. This spoce con be covered up
of ony poinf during fhe gome ond is meonf fo
moke fhe gome o IiffIe eosier. ShouId o sfring of covered spoces poss fhrough fhe
middIe, fhe FPEE spoce is one Iess word fhof needs fo be speIIed fo gef o 8IM0O.
Mofe: 8ingo con be o sfring of five covered spoces in mony direcfions:
Wheel of Fortune: Adopfed from fhe popuIor Americon ond 8uIgorion feIevision
show, fhis gome con be pIoyed in fhe cIossroom os weII.
MoferioIs Meeded:
Cordboord - fo moke fhe wheeI
*CoIored Poper fo moke fhe numbers
Scissors
Tope/0Iue fo offoch numbers fo boord
Dice (Z cubes)
BINGOO
Car Truck Milk Rabbit Dog
Train Heart Lucky Star Hard
Under Quiet FREE Light Table
Chair Strong Funny Short Torn
Bell Look Zebra Yellow Candy
BINGOO
Car Truck Milk Rabbit Dog
Train Heart Lucky Star Hard
Under Quiet FREE Light Table
Chair Strong Funny Short Torn
Bell Look Zebra Yellow Candy
Tokens you con use beons, coins, or
onyfhing fo represenf eoch pIoyer
*You moy use morkers fo drow numbers
on fhe cordboord insfeod of cuffing ouf
numbers if fhis is eosier for you
Insfeod of using o spinning wheeI, consfrucf o wheeI ouf of cordboord or poper ond
fiII in differenf poinf voIues for eoch spoce on fhe wheeI using eifher coIored
consfrucfion poper or morkers. Donf forgef fo odd o 8 for 8onkrupf ond o T for
Lose o Turn.
Assign eoch pIoyer o foken. PIoyers musf sforf of fhe some pIoce on fhe wheeI ond
move in o cIockwise direcfion. The firsf pIoyer begins by roIIing fhe poir of dice. The
pIoyer musf move his/her foken fhe exocf number of spoces shown on fhe dice. If
fhe pIoyer Ionds on o number, he/she moy guess o Ieffer. A correcf guess meons fhof
fhe pIoyer moy eifher roII ogoin or fry fo soIve fhe pu;;Ie. If fhe pIoyer roIIs fhe dice
ogoin, fhen his/her furn proceeds os before. If fhe pIoyer incorrecfIy offempfs fo
soIve fhe pu;;Ie fhen he/she Ioses o furn. If fhe pIoyer correcfIy soIves fhe pu;;Ie,
fhen onIy his/her poinfs from fhe round wiII be counfed fowords his/her finoI score.
PIoyers who did nof soIve fhe pu;;Ie wiII Iose fheir poinfs occumuIofed during fhe
round. If is up fo fhe feocher fo decide how mony rounds wiII be pIoyed.
As you con see in fhe obove diogrom, fhe cofegory for fhis round is Occupofion. The
word is Docfor. Mofice fhof fhere is o Iong recfonguIor box beneofh fhe word
Docfor wifh fhe Ieffers L, Y, ond E. These ore Ieffers fhof hove oIreody been
incorrecfIy guessed. Ieeping frock of previousIy guessed Ieffers mokes if eosier for
sfudenfs fo know which Ieffers ore Ieff.
L Y E
D O C O R
1
5
Jeopardy: odopfed from fhe popuIor Americon feIevision show, fhis come con eosiIy
be pIoyed in fhe cIossroom. Moke four fo six cofegories of differenf words. Some
exompIes of cofegories ore: Jobs/Occupofions, Food, 8everoges/Drinks, ond
FeeIings. Moke of Ieosf five differenf words for eoch of fhese cofegories. If fhe
cofegory is Jobs/Occupofions you con moke cords fhof soy, Docfor, Lowyer,
Murse, efc. If you choose fhe cofegory FeeIings you con moke cords fhof soy,
Hoppy, Sod, Depressed, efc. Eoch of fhe cords under fhe differenf cofegories
shouId be ossigned o poinf voIue. For exompIe, under fhe FeeIings cofegory, fhe
word Sod mighf be voIued of I00, buf fhe word Depressed mighf be voIued of 400.
SpIif fhe cIoss in fo differenf feoms.
Jobs/Occupation Food Beverages/Drinks Feelings Sports
100 100 100 100 100
200 200 200 200 200
300 300 300 300 300
400 400 400 400 400
500 500 500 500 500
Jobs/Occupation Food Beverages/Drinks Feelings Sports
Doctor Egg Coke Sad Soccer
Nurse Bean Juice Happy Basketball
Lawyer Yogurt Water Angry Volleyball
Trainer Sandwich Ice Tea Depressed Rowing
Psychologist Hamburger Lemonade Annoyed Rugby
Above is on exompIe of how o Jeopordy gome shouId Iook before pIoy begins. Once
feoms hove been esfobIished, fhe firsf feom wiII decide fogefher which cord fhey
wouId Iike fo choose. For exompIe, fhe firsf member of fhe feom wiII soy, WeII foke
FeeIings for b00. The feocher musf fhen remove fhe b00 cord under fhe FeeIings
cofegory from fhe boord ond reod oIoud fhe word on fhe bock of fhe cord. According
fo fhe chorf obove fhe feocher wouId reod fhe word, Annoyed. The firsf pIoyer
from fhe feom musf speII fhis word correcfIy in order fo win fhe b00 poinfs for his/
her feom. The pIoyer may not receive heIp from his/her feommofes during fhis fime.
PIoyers ore onIy oIIowed fo foIk wifh one onofher when fhey ore deciding which cord
fo choose.
Sfudy Tips for Sfudenfs:
Sfudy wifh o porfner wifh o porenf or friend, hove fhe porfner soy o word, procfice
by repeofing fhe word once, speIIing fhe word os fosf os you con correcfIy, ond fhen
repeof fhe word one more fime
PIoy o gome using o boII or jump rope procfice speIIing fhe word by jumping eoch fime
you soy o Ieffer or bouncing fhe boII eoch fime you soy o Ieffer
DeveIop o hond gome procfice cIopping fo fhe sound of fhe word. CIop for eoch
syIIobIe ond fhen cIop for eoch Ieffer fhof you soy
Websifes for More Informofion:
8eIow ore severoI Iinks where feochers ond voIunfeers con go fo gef differenf ideos
ond hove pu;;Ies ond gomes oufomoficoIIy creofed for fhem.
hffp://www.esIhq.com here you musf regisfer, buf if is free, ond fhen you hove
occess fo o Iof of differenf gomes ond ocfivifies fo heIp sfudenfs Ieorn.
hffp://www.esIdesk.com/speIIing - here you con occess fons of differenf speIIing ond
vocobuIory moferioIs for sfudenfs
Proper Momes of Leffers
When if comes fo speIIing words in EngIish, if is imporfonf fhof sfudenfs undersfond
fhe difference befween fhe sound of on EngIish Ieffer ond fhe nome of fhe Ieffer.
When speIIing words during compefifion, onIy fhe nomes of fhe Ieffers wiII be
occepfed. Sounds of fhe Ieffer wiII be considered incorrecf, even if fhe sound is
from fhe correcf Ieffer, fhe sfudenf musf soy fhe nome of fhe Ieffer.
EngIish AIphobef
Ao
8b
Cc
Dd
Ee
Ff
0g
Hh
Ii
Jj
Ik
LI
Mm
Mn
Oo
Pp
Qq
Pr
Ss
Tf
Uu
Vv
Ww
Xx
Yy
Z;
Mome
e
6
c

eq

eu
o
e
ke
en
eu
eu
o

k
op
ec
f

e
o6n
ekc
yo
a / ae
RULES
AND
GUIDELINES
OFFICIAL
Have you heard
the
B
u
z
z
?
Bulgarian National English
Spelling Bee
Section A
Basic Rules of Competition
1. Spellers must be between the ages of 9 and 14 and
must not have already passed 8
th
grade.
2. The host must call out the number of the rst
speller.
3. The speller must stand next to his/her own seat or
walk to the microphone** if necessary.
4. The announcer will slowly pronounce the word
out loud.
5. The speller must rst repeat the word to the
announcer before spelling the word.
6. The speller has two minutes and thirty seconds (2
min 30 sec) to spell the word.
7. During this time, the speller may ask the announcer
to: repeat the word, or dene it
8. Should the speller ask for the denition of the word,
the host may provide the denition in Bulgarian.
9. Once the speller begins spelling the word: he/she
may not correct any letter misspelling, she/she may
start over and spell the word from the beginning, but
must retrace the letters previously spelled aloud and
in the same order in which they were spelled.
10. Once he speller has completed spelling the word, he/
she must repeat the word aloud to indicate that he/
she is indeed nished.
11. Spellers may use the British or American spellings of
the words.
12. Spellers must us the correct name of the letter.
Using the sound of the letter is not accepted and will
result in disqualication.
13. If the announcer determines that the word is spelled
correctly he will tell the speller that he/she is
correct and to take his/her seat. If the word is
misspelled, the announcer will tell the speller that
the word is incorrect. The speller must then take in
the area designated for disqualied spellers
14. Competition rules continue until there are just two
spellers left.
Section B:
When Two Spellers Are Left in Competition
The rules for elimination during competition change slightly
when only two spellers remain
1. If the rst of the last two spellers misspells a word,
he/she is not eliminated. Instead, the second speller
is given a chance to correctly spell the misspelled
word. If the second speller spells the word
correctly, he/she is given a new word to spell. If the
second speller also spells the new word correctly,
he/she will be declared the champion.
2. Should the second speller spell the misspelled word
correctly, but misspell the new word given, then the
rst speller will have a chance to correctly spell this
misspelled word. If the rst speller spells this word
correctly, he/she is given a new word to spell. If the
rst speller also spells the new word
correctly, he/she will be declared the
champion.
3. If the rst speller misspells the word
and the second speller also misspells the
same word, then the announcer will
provide a new word for the rst speller to spell.
4. Then the aforementioned process continues until a
champion is declared.
5. Decisions made by the host and/or announcer are
nal and cannot be appealed.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Any participant or non-participant
caught cheating or assisting someone to cheat will
be disqualied and/or banned from the competition.
*Disqualication occurs when:

a speller misspells a word (only applies to Section A

above)

a speller does not abide by the rules and guidelines of

competition

a speller exceeds the allotted time to spell any given

word

a speller ignores a request by an ofcial, such as the

host or announcer

it is deemed necessary by the host or announcer

Competitions must be held within the rst week of
March, between TBA
1. Competitions must be hosted by a local
Bulgarian with assistance from a Peace Corps
volunteer.
2. Announcer of the competition must be a PC
volunteer or a native English speaker.
3. On the day of competition, the host and
volunteer must make sure:

each speller is assigned a number to wear on

his/her clothing. Students name and
assigned number to be documented.

spellers are seated in ascending numeric

order.

the room has designated seating for

disqualied* spellers.

the host and volunteer each have a copy of:

the list of words to be used; an English/
Bulgarian dictionary; a copy of the Ofcial
Rules and Guidelines of the National Spelling
Bee.
4. The competition must begin on time.
5. The host must rst read aloud the Ofcial
Rules of the National Spelling Bee.
6. The competition will begin once the Ofcial
Rules have been read and the host has taken
his/her seat next to the volunteer. The host
and volunteer must be seated facing the
spellers.
7. This is not a closed competition. The school/
host and/or volunteer to determine who is a
permitted in the spelling area.
8. Competition may be held in any local venue
approved by the school /host and/or
volunteer.
9. Date, time, and place of competition must be
determined by school/teacher in cooperation
with the volunteer.
10.There is no ofcial dress code; however, it is
advised to dress appropriately.
11.The host must audio record the competition
and announce each speller by their number.
Results of competition must be submitted by TBA
LOCAL COMPETITION
T-W-E-E-T
NATIONAL SPELLING BEE
Ofcial Rules and Guidelines