Reigning champs share their top tips for blitzing the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee
The reigning national champs have some advice for kids preparing to take on this year’s Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee as the school round of competition kicks off
READING LEVEL: GREEN
They blitzed the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee last year and now the reigning* national champs have some advice for kids preparing to take on this year’s competition.
And their number one tip is reading.
“My top tip for improving spelling is to read a lot and to look up words in the dictionary if you don’t know what they mean,” said 13-year-old Evan Luc-Tran, who won the Years 7-8 category last year.
The winner of the Years 3-4 group, Arielle Wong, 11, said: “You have to practise a lot and read lots of different genres* of books.”
And Theekshitha Karthik, who took out the Years 5-6 category, said picking up a book was a great way to prepare for the competition without putting too much pressure on yourself.
“I would definitely say prepare but don’t prepare too much,” Theekshitha, 12, said. “Reading books is a really good option for preparing for the Spelling Bee.”
The Year 7 student at Haileybury College’s Berwick campus in Melbourne also suggested focusing on commonly misspelt words and words you find tricky.
“The reason why I remember some hard words is that I practise them a lot and a lot, and when I get them wrong I practise them five or 10 more times,” she said.
The 2021 national champs urged kids to give the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee a go.
“Kids should enter the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee this year because it’s super fun, you get to learn so many new words and the prize pack is absolutely awesome,” said Evan, who is now in Year 9 at The McDonald College in Sydney.
Theekshitha said she loved the competitive side of the online competition, in which students must type their answers to 30 randomly* selected audio words as quickly as possible.
“I enjoyed the Spelling Bee a lot in different ways, but I think the part where I enjoyed it most was probably the typing part,” she said.
“It felt really competitive so you just have to keep typing and press enter. You wouldn’t really have much time to keep thinking about it, so I liked that part.”
Theekshitha scored 29/30 in a lightning quick time of just 1 minute 12.7 seconds.
Arielle said she also loved practising for the competition and then competing.
“I think kids should enter because it’s a fun opportunity and it encourages hard work,” she said.
National champions win a trip to Canberra to meet the Prime Minister, an iPad and a book pack, while their school scores a $1000 voucher to spend on books, technology or other equipment.
More than 37,000 children from around the nation have already been signed up to the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee, with the school round opening on Monday, August 15.
Teacher registrations remain open to August 26.
Sign up at spelling-bee.com.au
GLOSSARY
- reigning: currently holding a particular title or position at the top
- genres: styles or categories of literature, art or music
- randomly: in a way that is done by chance rather than according to a plan
EXTRA READING
PM spells out importance of the Bee
No mistaking author’s support for Spelling Bee
Australia’s best young spellers revealed
QUICK QUIZ
- What is the number one tip given by last year’s Spelling Bee winners?
- Which category of the competition did Evan Luc-Tran win?
- How many words do students have to spell in the competition?
- What aspect of the competition did Theekshitha enjoy most?
- What is the main prize the national champions win?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Personal spelling list
Theekshitha suggests focusing on words you find tricky. So, get out your writing book and use this to help you make a list of 10 words that you find tricky to spell. Practise these words by:
- identifying which letters in the word trick you, and thinking of a way you might remember – for example, a spelling rule or an acronym
- writing each word in five different colours
- writing each word in five different fonts
- spelling each word out loud in five different voices
- writing the word in a sentence
Then have a friend test you on your words. How many can you get right?
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
2. Extension
Is your grade signed up for the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee yet? If not, write a note to your teacher telling them why they should get your class involved. If you are already signed up, explain why you think the Spelling Bee will be fun and educational.
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
Vocabulary recycle
There is some vivid vocabulary being used in the article, and I am not just talking about the glossary words. Go through the article and highlight the high-level language that you are impressed by in yellow.
See if you can borrow two of these wow words to reuse in your own way.
Remember vocabulary is a great way to connect with the audience, but you need to think about who your audience is so you make great word choices.
Who will the audience be in your recycled sentences?