Things You'll Need:
- How to Spell Like A Champ
- Spell It! The official National Spelling Bee guide
- Merriam-Webster's A Dictionary of Prefixes, Suffixes, and Combining Forms.
-
Step 1
Pick up a copy of, "Merriam-Webster's A Dictionary of Prefixes, Suffixes, and Combining Forms." Use this to learn how words are put together. This book can be found online or at a local bookstore.
-
Step 2
Check out the official National Spelling Bee guide called, "Spell It!" Find it in your local bookstore or online.
-
Step 3
Study the Consolidated Word List link that is listed below. It is a compilation of spelling words dated back to 1950. The words are categorized between words based upon frequency of use in spelling bee competitions.
-
Step 4
Check the local newspaper that sponsors the spelling bee for a list of words to be used during competition time. Sometimes they are given the list as a guide to help students study.
-
Step 5
Look for more word list resources at libraries or bookstores that carry study material for standardized tests (i.e. ACT or SAT) They have verbal sections dedicated to vocabulary words.
-
Step 6
Pick between 50 and 100 words that should be studied on a weekly basis. Write down the difficult words many times and learn how to incorporate some of those words in normal conversation.
-
Step 7
Practice spelling the words out loud and then time yourself. In competitions, a person is given about 2 1/2 minutes to spell the word.
-
Step 8
Ask a friend to help test you on what you've learned.
