Spelling Bee

Guide 2015

Hello and thank you for your help in the National Spelling
Bee 2015!
Included in this packet are guidelines for all volunteers
who will be helping to facilitate spelling bees in their
region and who will be helping with the National Event
in Skopje. Please review the information provided in this
packet, as some of it is new for 2015 and is not included
in the HCN teacher guide.
Table of Contents

3-5

Regional Bee Venue

6-7

Regional Bee Procedures

8
Regional and National Bee Roles and
Descriptions
9-10

Official Rules for Regional and National Bee

11

Volunteer Checklist-Regional Spelling Bee

12

Volunteer Checklist-National Spelling Bee

Regional Bee Venue

Choosing a venue:
Volunteers are generally responsible for choosing a space
for the Regional Spelling Bees in their regions. If you are
asked by the Spelling Bee committee to secure a space,
there some details which should be considered. The ideal
location for a Regional Bee no matter whether it is large
or small is a school. There are two basic formats to
choose from: Gym/Auditorium Style or Classroom
Style. The format that you choose is only dependent on
what you have available to you at your site. Both styles
provide students will equal opportunities during the
Spelling Bee. Because Regional Bee information should be
available to share during Local Bees in March, all
coordinating volunteers should have secured a location
for their Regional Bee by March 1st 2015.

Regional Bee Basic Format Descriptions:

1. Gym/Auditorium Style:
Each Grade level is given a time to arrive and register. The
regional bees for each grade level will take place over 1.5
hours.
Students, teachers and parents will be invited to remain in
the auditorium during their bee time slot. Teachers and
parents will be asked to sit in the audience. Students will sit
on stage.

 Each student will be called one at a time (by their assigned

number) to spell a word. If they spell the word incorrectly
they will leave the stage and be met at the bottom by their
teachers. Those who spell the words correctly will remain on
stage.

See sample schedule on the next page:

Sample Schedule for Regional Bee

Gym/Auditorium Style
Grade

8:15-10:00

9:45-11:30

11:15-1:00

12:45-2:30

2:15-4:00

3:45-5:30

5
Sign-In (8:15 Grade 8:29) and Bee
(8:30 - 10:00)
th

6
Grade
th

7
Grade
th

8 /9
Grade
th

th

1 /2
Year
st

nd

3 /4
Year
rd

th

Sign-In (9:45 9:59) and Bee

(10:00 - 11:30)
Sign-In (11:15 11:29) and Bee
(11:30 - 1:00)
Sign-In (12:45 12:59) and Bee
(1:00 - 2:30)
Sign-In (2:15 2:29) and Bee
(2:30 - 4:00)
Sign-In (3:45 3:59) and Bee
(4:00 - 5:30)

2. Classroom Style:

Depending on the number of students, each grade

level will be assigned a time slot and a classroom.

Students should register in their assigned classroom.

Each classroom in which a competition is taking

place should have 2 judges and the appropriate
translators.
See sample schedule below:

Sample Schedule for Regional Bee -- Classroom

Style
Time

Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Classroom 4

9:0010:00
10:0012:00
12:301:30
1:303:30

5th Grade
6th Grade
7th Grade
8th/9th Grade
Sign-In
Sign-In
Sign-In
Sign-In
th
th
th
5 Grade Bee 6 Grade Bee 7 Grade Bee 8th/9th Grade
Bee
st
nd
rd
1 Year Sign- 2 Year Sign- 3 Year Sign- 4th Year Sign-In
In
In
In
st
nd
rd
th
1 /2 Year
3 /4 Year
Bee
Bee

*** Depending on the number of participants in each grade, and

the space available, students will need to be divided into smaller
groups for mini-competitions.

Regional Pre-Bee Procedures

1. Obtain a venue (as described on the previous pages).
2. Obtain paperwork from the National Spelling Bee
Committee, which includes the number of registered
students for your competition, their schools and
grade levels.
3. Gather PCVs to help at the Bee as well as HCNs who
are willing to work as translators. Assign roles (see
page 6). Note that you will need more judges and
translators if you choose the classroom style
format for your Bee.
4. Gather materials (see checklists)
Regional Day-of Procedures
1. Students should check in and be given a number.
The check in should occur 15 minutes before the
bees begin (i.e. if the bee begins at 10:30
registration should be from 10:15 to 10:29. This
means registration will end at 10:29 and the bee will
start at exactly 10:30). If there are 100 5th grade
students, each student in the 5th grade should be
numbered 1-100.
2. If students show up more than ten minutes late, (i.e.
the bee begins at 10:30 and a student comes to
register at 10:41) volunteers at the sign-in table will
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inform the student he or she is disqualified from the

bee.
3. Students are sent to the appropriate area for their
Bee. They are arranged in order. In addition to
students, there should be at least 2 judges and
translators for the needed languages (Albanian,
Macedonian etc.)
4. Judges will receive a word list to read from which has
been randomized. The words are not in the same
order as the original one, which was given to
students. The judge will read the words, 1 per
student, in order and check off each word as it is
read.
5. When the student at the front of the line hears the
word, they will write it on the board. The judges will
inform them if it is correct.
6. If the word is not spelled correctly, the students will
be automatically out of the competition.
7. When 5 rounds have been completed, i.e. each
person in line has been given a word to spell 5 times,
the judge can move to the word list for the next
grade level. When 5 rounds have been completed
with that list, the judge has the right to move on to
the next grade level and so on.
8. When the line of students is down to 5 people left,
those 5 will go on the National Bee.
9. The top 5 students from each grade level will be
given invitations to the National Bee, as well as
National Qualifier certificates.
10. The coordinator for the Regional Bee should also
record the names and relevant information of the top 5
students from each grade level who are selected to go
to the National Bee.

11. The coordinator for the Regional Bee should record

this
information on the National Qualifier form on our
website.

Regional and National Bee Roles and Descriptions

Sign in Table Responsible for signing students in

when they arrive and directing them to the correct
room, as well as writing students names on National
Qualifier Certificates.

American Judge Responsible for choosing,

reading, and judging students spelling bee words.
(See further information for how to choose words
below).

Translator Should be host country nationals.

Responsible for giving word translations to students
8

who request them in Macedonian, Albanian, or

Turkish.

Runner Assists volunteers in making sure all

supplies are stocked in the rooms (word lists,
markers/chalk, paper, pens etc.). Assists in relaying
information, directing students to the correct
classrooms, and/or checking in on each classroom
during the bee.

Photographer Takes photos throughout the event.

*** The number of volunteers needed for each role will

depend on the location and size of the bee, as well as the
number of classrooms simultaneously running.

Official Rules for Regional and National

Spelling Bee

*Note: Please familiarize your qualifying students with

these rules before the competition. Special treatment will
not be given for students who are not familiar with the
rules.
**Note: Students who are late for the competition by more
than 10 minutes will not be allowed to compete unless a
judge or Spelling Bee Coordinator was otherwise notified
before the competition.

1. Students may be split into smaller mini-Bees before

competing in the grade-level Bee. This is dependent on
the number of students competing.
2. Students are to stand in a line according to their
assigned number (number will be assigned at
Registration the morning of).
3. Each student will be given one word, one at a time, in
which they must write the correct spelling on the board.
**Note: These words will be chosen by the judges
according to a fair and unbiased system set and
agreed upon by all judges before the competition.
4. Once a student has begun to write a word on the
board, they are not allowed to erase or cross out any
letters. They may choose to add to a letter (for example
changing an o to an a ) or they may add a letter in
between two others.
5. If the student spells the word correctly, they move onto
the next round and are to return to the end of the line. If
the student spells the word incorrectly, they are out of
the competition and must leave the room.
6. When a group of students has completed 5 rounds,
the judges switch lists and give the students words from
another grade-level list or a secret bonus list. These may
not be words they have studied.
7. Years 1-4 may be asked to spell words orally instead
of writing them on the board. This will only happen during
the final grade-level Bee at the National Competition. In
the event that this occurs, students must spell the word
10

clearly, slowly, and loudly, using the Latin/English letters,

not the sounds the letters make.
8. If a student gives help to anyone or receives help from
anyone, they are disqualified.
9. Any talking or looking at lists while waiting in line will
be considered cheating and that student will be
disqualified.
10. Students are encouraged to ask for the translation
into their native tongue.
11. Students may not ask for the word to be repeated by
the Macedonian/Albanian/Turkish judge. All students
have the opportunity to listen to the native pronunciation
online through National Spelling Bees Spellingcity.com
account before the competition. Only native English
speakers will read the words.
12. If the word has both an American and a British
spelling, either spelling will be accepted.
13. The winning speller must spell one additional word
correctly in order to be awarded first place. If they are not
successful, the spellers eliminated in the previous round
will continue competing.
14. Judges/Translators who have children or students
participating in the Spelling Bee will not be allowed to
judge for their own children/students. They may however
be judges for other groups.

11

Volunteer Checklist Regional Spelling Bee

Materials for Bee
Lists of all registered students (by grade level)
Sign-In sheets for all grade levels
Sign-In sheet for teachers
Sign-In sheet for volunteers
Chalk and/or whiteboard markers for all rooms
Word list for each grade level
Additional copies of higher word lists for every grade (ex: 5 th
grade should

have lists for 5th grade - 4th year + secret word list,

6th grade should have lists

for 6th grade - 4th year + secret

word list, etc.)

Invitations for student who qualify for Nationals
Certificates for students who qualify for Nationals
Copies of rules and procedures for each room
Any additional signs (to direct students, to label sign-in
tables or classrooms
etc.)
Camera
Pens (for sign-in tables, and classrooms/auditorium)

Volunteer Checklist National Spelling Bee

Materials for Bee
Lists of all qualifying students (by grade level)
Sign-In sheets for all grade levels
Sign-In sheet for volunteers
Whiteboard markers for each classroom
Word lists for each grade level

12

Additional copies of higher word lists for every grade (ex: 5 th

grade should

have lists for 5th grade - 4th year + secret word list,

6th grade should have lists

for 6th grade - 4th year + secret

word list, etc.)

Copies of rules and procedures for each classroom
Any additional signs (to direct students, to label sign-in
tables or classrooms
etc.)
Camera
Pens (for sign-in tables and each classroom)

13