HEF Spelling Bee Tips & Word Lists
Study Tips
Team Practice
THE BEST thing students can do to prepare for the HEF Spelling Bee is to get together with their team to run through the process of the Bee. All 3 should sit together at a table with a white board and dry erase marker, scratch paper and pencil. An adult can play the moderator and give them a word (you can use spelling words from school for this purpose). The adult should pronounce the word, define it, say it in a sentence, and pronounce it one more time. Team members have 30 seconds to collaborate on the word, write it on the board, and hold it up for the judges to see.
Practice Listening
It is VERY IMPORTANT for students to practice listening. Many errors at the Bee are because the team did not hear the “right word” – they NEED to listen to the definition and sentence as well as the word pronunciation because there are homophones (e.g., pitcher and picture, bazaar and bizarre) and other easily confused words (e.g., desert and dessert).
Choose a Team Writer
Each team will need to designate one writer as it helps eliminate confusion. The writer should be the team member with the largest, most legible handwriting who can write neatly and quickly under the pressure of a time constraint. By having each team member practice as writer you will be able to find the best person for the job.
You Do Not Need To Study
Students do NOT need to study specific word lists… or study at all, but we know that many want to so we have provided some resources below that may be of help. There is no “official practice list” for the HEF Spelling Bee.
Practice Word Lists