S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G- B-E-E. Definition: a spelling competition won by the team or individual by spelling the most words correctly; a spelldown. Country of origin: The United States. Would you like the word used in a sentence? Cameron Middle School competed against other area schools in a spelling bee in Plattsburg on February 18th. 

But what makes a student fit for a spelling bee? What kind of background and talent do they need to have? Do they need to be able to memorize every word they come across, or are their tips and tricks for them? Are "spelling bee kids" really a unique brand of student? Or are they simply kids who have a bit of a knack for words?

"I think there was a lot of talent going into the spelling bee this year," said 5th Grade Teacher Amy Gunn. "We had a lot of academically gifted students to work with, and they did very well. They were very dedicated to studying and practicing, whether at school or at home." Students participating in the spelling bee were given packets of words to study and drill each other over, and practices were offered before and after school for two weeks before the bee took place. "I think practices were very productive. Students paired up and drilled each other, or the whole group worked with the smart board to go over some of the words," said Mrs. Gunn. 

 

Sixth grade student and spelling bee participant Kaylea Gunn said "they were a lot of help for learning new words," when asked about spelling bee parctices. 

Another sixth grade student, Rachel Gates, agreed. "They were very useful. I'm glad we got to have them," she explained. 

 

But how are students actually chosen to participate in the spelling bee? "The 5th grade has it's own grade-wide spelling bee, and we narrow it down to the top spellers from there," said Mrs. Gunn. "But the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades have spelling competitions in every class, and they get to the top few spellers in those classes, then they put the top spellers together, and narrow it down to three per grade level. Those twelve are all the students we're allowed to send to the Clinton County Spelling Bee." 

 

Teachers like Mrs. Gunn who help students by providing them with practices and lists of words are nationwide. According to statistics from the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee, 38 out of 293 students participating in the Scripps National bee were coached solely by their teachers. But family is a big help, too. 228 out of the 293 were coached by family members and/or friends. That adds up to 266 out of 293 students who had coaches and mentors at their fingertips.

 

Spelling Bees are a great way to teach students about different countries and their languages, and many students can, and will do very well with them. However, its better not to bite off more than you can chew. Said Kaylea Gunn, "I tried to spell 'supercalifragilisticexpialadocious' one day at practice... but I didn't get it."