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DMahaffey
02-27-2007, 10:15 AM
I am teaching Language Arts at a new school, grades third through sixth. I was asked to have my students compete against each other in a spelling bee. I argued that the sixth graders would have a definite advantage, but was told to just do my best.

My question, or actually request, is for help in creating a list that I could use for all the students.

Thank you,
Donna
dolmansaxlil
02-27-2007, 02:59 PM
Could you simply keep a ranking of who gets knocked out in what order, and then award kids based on age category with one "overall" winner? In fact, if you did it based on the National Spelling Bee (where you'd know who was coming up next, and what grade they're in), couldn't you have a list for each grade, and then just ask them a word from the appropriate list? So you'd end up with a top 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grader.
DMahaffey
02-28-2007, 04:27 PM
Excellent suggestion and thank you.
What I really need is a list of words that I can use to have them compete. I don't have the time nor resources to obtain words. Any shortcut would help.
Any suggestions?
Krafty
02-28-2007, 07:13 PM
A quick search on "spelling bee" word list nets some great results, for example here is word list divided by grade level:

Sample Spelling List (http://www.eyedocgreg.com/homeschool/spelling_bee.htm)

I don't think the list is very long, but I'm sure you could find a few and combine them.

Good luck!
landreth2007
03-01-2007, 07:12 PM
Don't bet on the third graders being at a disadvantage. I had a 3rd grader one year who trounced the 5th graders. The 5th grader I have this year won out over middle school students in the county spelling bee. He beat a 3rd grader (also from our school) by only one word. It is not always the oldest kids who win.
SLP
03-04-2007, 07:45 PM
I noticed a Spelling Bee book for sale in the Scholastic Arrow Brochure for April 2007:
How to Spell Like a Champ by Barrie Trinkle, Carolyn Andrews, & Paige Kimble.
The description says "Real spelling bee champs tell you what it takes to win - from what words to learn to how to keep your cool!" (197 pages) Might be a nice complement to a spelling bee at school.