If this is the first time you are attending the National Bee, you might be wondering how to prepare for the top spelling competition. Even if you've made it to the final rounds in past years, below are some tips for getting one step closer to taking home the grand prize.
Tips for the National Spelling Bee
Make sure you learn the off-list words provided by Scripps to spellers attending the National Bee. You can download these words when you register with Scripps on the National Spelling Bee website. This list contains approximately 600 of the off-list words given at various Regional or State bees.
To compete at the national level, your word foundation should be around 30,000+ words, and the higher rungs should be closer to 100,000.
Top Hexco word lists ranked from beginner to advanced:
- Verbomania – 13,398 words total - random sequence with index or alpha sequence - primarily vocabulary enriching words
- Paideia – 11,818 words total - organized by Beginning, Intermediate & Advanced levels - words from beginning, intermediate and advanced levels
- New Nat's Notes – 18,067 words total - random sequence with index or alpha sequence - difficult words used at National and Regional Bee from most of the last 40 years plus similar words
- Blitz List – 9,000 words total - random sequence (New! Blitz 4!) - difficult words not used at prior bees or in published lists, at least until these were published - some have been used in last 5 years
- Webster Detector – 2,506 words total - random sequence - difficult words that were NOT in the printed Webster's Third New International, but are not in the Online Merriam Webster
Improve your performance by mastering spelling rules, etymology, and vocabulary. For building word foundation, check out The Spelling Rules Book and Etyma Notes.
Last, but not least, the Crash Course can help launch you to the top. This five-week course is only for spellers who are going to the National Bee. Classes start April 11, and participants will learn how to optimize study time, develop spelling skills, and learn techniques for fielding those unknown words!
In 2019, Shruthika Padhy, one of the 2019 octo-champions, participated in our Crash Course and then in our Personal Spelling Coaching (PSC) program. Ananya Vinay, the 2017 National Champion, and Gokul Venkatachalam, the 2015 champion, followed the same path of participating in our Crash Course and then in our PSC program.
For the past 20 years, one or more NSB winners have used Hexco products for a total of 29 National Champions, counting the ties along the way and 7 of the 8 octo-champs in 2019.
Could you be the next champion? Hexco can help you get there. Good luck, and we hope to see you on the big screen!