Spell It Out!
English, the wonderful melting pot of a language that it is, is one of the few languages in the world that has competitions like spelling bees. Why, you ask? Some languages, like Italian or Finnish, have very clear rules about phonetic sounds and the letters that represent them — so spelling is easy and logical, and there’s no reason that they’d have a contest to see who can spell really well. But English? Well, drawing from languages as diverse as French, German, Latin, and other traditions, there can be a baffling number of sounds that the same letters can make in context — think of “tough,” “thought,” “though,” “through,” and “thorough.” It’s much more difficult, and so, we make a competition out of it!
If you feel like you’ve got a solid grasp on the twists and turns of the English language, or if you just really like words, consider taking part in a spelling bee. You might just find you’re an obscenely astute orthographer.
When is the 2024 LPS Spelling Bee?
February 10, 8:30 a.m. at Culler Middle School
How do you sign up?
Students can sign up online now at home.lps.org/english/bee by filling out the form.
Who can sign up?
Any student of the Lincoln Public Schools in grades 6-8 who will be under the age of 16 on or before the date of the national finals shall be eligible to participate. Students who want to receive study information can contact their English Language Arts teacher.
Who was the winner from last year and what was the winning word?
The 2023 winner of the LPS Spelling Bee was Lumi Kim, from Lux Middle School.
The winning word was “vespertine,” which comes from Latin vespertinus, from vesper ‘evening,’ and which means “relating to, occurring, or active in the evening.”
What are some tips for students looking to compete?
Read different types of books to enrich your word bank.
Compile a spelling notebook. Different sections can feature troublesome word endings, homonyms, troublesome double-letter spellings, or specialized terms.
Watch some of the previous LPS Spelling Bees on YouTube or visit Scripps National Spelling Bee’s website to learn tips and tricks from accomplished spellers.