Spelling bee

A spelling bee is a North American competition where contestants, usually children, are asked to spell English words.

Related Topics:
North America - Children - Spell - English

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The earliest evidence of the phrase "spelling bee" in print dates back to 1825, although the contests had apparently been held before that year. A key impetus for the contests was Noah Webster's spelling books. First published in 1786 and known colloquially as "The Blue-backed Speller", Webster's spelling books were an essential part of the curriculum of all elementary school children in the United States for five generations.

Related Topics:
1825 - Noah Webster - 1786 - United States

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The National Spelling Bee was initiated in 1925 by the Louisville, Kentucky Courier-Journal. In 1941, the Scripps Howard News Service acquired sponsorship of the program.

Related Topics:
National Spelling Bee - 1925 - Louisville, Kentucky - 1941 - Scripps Howard News Service

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The Spelling Bee of Canada started with a local contest in 1987 in Toronto, Canada. In 1996, contestants were accepted from other provinces.

Related Topics:
Spelling Bee of Canada - 1987 - Toronto, Canada - 1996

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The basic rule of spelling a word in the competition is that once the contestant has started to spell a word, he may start over, but the letter or sequence of letters already spoken may not be changed. Failure to spell a word correctly disqualifies a contestant, who is removed from the competition. The competition is conducted in rounds until only one contestant remains.

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In the United States, spelling bees are annually held from local levels up to the level of the Scripps National Spelling Bee which awards a cash prize to the winner. The National Spelling Bee is sponsored by English-language newspapers and educational foundations; it is also broadcast on ESPN. In 2005, contestants came from the Bahamas, Jamaica, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Canada, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and a German military base, as well as the United States. This was the first year that spellers from Canada and New Zealand attended the competition.

Related Topics:
United States - Scripps National Spelling Bee - Newspaper - ESPN - 2005 - Bahamas - Jamaica - Guam - U.S. Virgin Islands - American Samoa - Canada - New Zealand - Puerto Rico

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This kind of competition is depicted in the 2002 Academy Award-nominated documentary, Spellbound. Fictional works about spelling bees include the 2001 novel Bee Season and the 2005 musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Related Topics:
2002 - Academy Award - Documentary - Spellbound - 2001 - Novel - Bee Season - 2005 - Musical - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

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The etymology of the word "bee" is unclear. Historically, it has described a social congregation where a specific action is being carried out, like a husking bee, or an apple bee.

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