Carolyn's
Corner
At-a-GlanceCarolyn's
Corner covers many aspects of spelling study and competition. Some of these aspects
are probably of more interest to you than others. It can be very time-consuming
to wade through all the Carolyn's Corner material to obtain the information that
is of most interest to you. If you would simply like to "hit the high spots"
of the Carolyn's
Corner schedule, this page is for you!
STUDY
TIPS Print
your copy of Spell It! Use
our 2009 Spell It! online quiz feature. Decide
(1) how serious you are about spelling bee participation and (2) how much time
you would like to spend studying. Set
up a spelling notebook. Have
your study materials easily accessible. Study
frequently misspelled words and make a list of words you frequently misspell. Taste
your words. Familiarize
yourself with Webster's Third New International Dictionary, copyright 2002.
This dictionary is the official dictionary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. When
learning to spell words, make sure that you are pronouncing the words correctly.
Learn to use the pronunciation guide
in the dictionary, and check your pronunciation. Learn
how your voice should reflect what is indicated by stress marks. Learn
what to do with stacked stress marks. Learn
about pronunciations that contain the dotted d. If
you identify words for which correct pronunciation is no help in spelling, it
might be helpful to create for them a
deliberate mispronunciation that will help you remember the correct spelling. Download
Merriam-Webster's A Dictionary
of Prefixes, Suffixes, and Combining Forms and begin your mastery of many
of the major building blocks of great "spelling bee words." Think
of a creative way to study Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Prefixes, Suffixes,
and Combining Forms. Master
the spellings and meanings of prefixes. Become
knowledgeable about the process of transliteration. Become
knowledgeable about the process of assimilation. Explore
words that have double letters. Pay
attention to foreign sounds and their spellings. Use
language textbooks and/or the Webster's Third CD-ROM to study spelling
patterns in various languages. Observe
spelling patterns in words that contain silent consonants. Add
one new word to your vocabulary every day. Subscribe
to Merriam-Webster's "Word of the Day" feature. Be
on the lookout for homonyms.
Become a cruciverbalist. Browse
catalogs for good "spelling bee words." Use
a medical terminology workbook to learn Latin and Greek word elements. Study
the verbal sections of materials dedicated to preparing for standardized achievement
tests. Study
old Scripps National Spelling Bee word lists. Read,
read, read. Use
mnemonic devices to remember tricky spellings. Browse
through Webster's Third New International Dictionary and pay special attention
to all the words that are illustrated. From
your peers: a variety of ideas for studying hard words Create
lists of favorite words. Apply
Your Interest in Words to More than Spelling Competition. Take
a break.
SPELLING
BEE PARTICIPATION TIPS
Be careful when spelling words that contain
double letters. Don't
worry about diacritical marks. Ask
the pronouncer if your word has any other pronunciations.
Repronounce
your word with the same stress or stresses that have been provided to you by the
pronouncer. Maintain
your competitive edge: Don't get cocky. Use
the KISS rule when there is no information that can help you with the correct
spelling of a word. Think
about whether or not a word you are asked to spell has a homonym. Spell
as Noah Webster would have you spell. Communicate
with the judges! From
your peers: a variety of ideas for preparing for the big day
SPELLING
OBSERVATIONS
Hard and Soft g's and c's Words
Ending in -ant/-ance and -ent/-ence Words
ending in -able and -ible Words
Ending in -eous/-ious
Words
Ending in -ian/-ean Words
Ending in -ous/-us Words
Ending in -ial/-ual/-eal Words
Ending in -el, -le, -ile, and -al Adding
Suffixes to Words That End in y Nouns
That End in -en and Their Related Forms Spelling
the /j/ Sound at the End of a Word Spelling
the /et/ Sound in Words from French Consonant
Spelling Traps With
respect to language of origin: Correspondences
Between Language of Origin and Spelling Connective
Vowels: Part I Connective
Vowels: Part II Connective
Vowels: Part III Transliteration
of Greek Alphabet C's
and K's in Words of Greek Origin C's
and K's in Words of Origins Other Than Greek Other
Greek and Latin Tidbits Spelling
English Words of French Origin: An Introduction Spelling
English Words of French Origin: From a College Professor Spelling
English Words of Spanish Origin: Two High-School Teachers Share Spelling
English Words of Hawaiian Origin: From a College Professor
SPELLING
RULES Drop
the final e before a suffix beginning with a vowel. Exceptions
to the "Drop the final e before a suffix beginning with a vowel"
Spelling Rule If
the "eyes" sound follows v or w, then the word ends in -ise.
Practically all other words ending with the "eyes" sound end in -ize or
-yze. When
the suffixes -ness and -ly are added to a word, the spelling of
the word itself is not changed.
If a word accented on the final syllable
ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant
before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel. If the accent shifts with the addition
of the suffix, do not double the final consonant.
When a prefix is added to a word, the spelling
of the word itself remains the same. -FUL,
not -FULL, is added to a noun to form an adjective.
The usual way to keep the "hard" c
sound when adding -ed, -ing, -er, or -y to words that end in c
is to insert a k between the c and the suffix. The
plural of nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel or vowel sound is formed
by adding s. The plural of nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant
is formed by adding either s or es.
INSPIRATIONAL
REMARKS/STORIES
"My Paideia Things" Benefits
of Spelling Bee Participation If
your heart is set on winning your school bee, tackle Spell It! "What
Spelling Competition Means to Me"
"Being a Winner" "Success"
WORD
SITES
(Not Necessarily Referred to in Carolyn's Corner) Listed
below are links to word sites that you might find interesting. Some of these sites
have been brought to my attention by spellers. If you would like to share your
favorite word site with other spellers, send
me its URL and I will consider adding it to this list. Note:
Some of the sites listed are more highly maintained than others. Be aware that
you might encounter typos and incorrect information when you visit some of these
sites. Remember: Webster's Third New International Dictionary and its
addenda section, copyright 2002, is the official dictionary of the Scripps National
Spelling Bee. Merriam-Webster
Online: The Language Center Merriam-Webster's
Word Central Ruth
Pettis's Word Safari: Megalist of Word Links English
and its History: Related Links McDougal
Littell's Language of Literature Spelling for Grade 6
McDougal
Littell's Language of Literature Spelling for Grade 7
McDougal
Littell's Language of Literature Spelling for Grade 8
Oxford
Dictionaries: Passionate About Language Wordsmyth:
The Educational Dictionary-Thesaurus The
Origin and History of the English Language Family
Education Network's Funbrain.com Word Games Family
Education Network's Fact Monster Word Wise Forthright's
Phrontistery The
English Language: Words Borrowed from Other Languages Sadlier-Oxford's
Phonics and Word Study (click first on Student Activity Center, then on the
activities for Phonics and Word Study for PreK–6) Spelling
It Right Everyday
Spelling
by Scott Foresman Daily
Spelling Bee Martha
Barnette's Funwords SpellBee.org The
Word Spy Thinks.com
Words and WordPlay World
Wide Words The
Mavens' Word of the Day Archive Word
Play: Sites that Feature Fun with Words Houghton
Mifflin's Spelling Match YourDictionary
FreeRice
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