Rules for Bighelp Spelling Bee Contest

Based on the feedback we received from the parents, spellers and the volunteers, the format and Rules for Bighelp Spelling Bee have been significantly revised to improve the quality of the contest. We encourage spellers and parents to read these rules prior to appearing for the contest.

Eligibility: Children from KG to 6th grade are eligible to participate.

Admission: The admission to this contest is free. Contest registration should be done by the parents when submitting their RSVP.

Grades 1: Leve1 1

Grades 2: Level 2

Grades 3: Level 3

Grades 4: Level 4

Grades 5th & 6th: Senior Level


Below are the sample question papers for your reference.
2011 Level 1
2011 Level 2
2011 Level 3
2011 Level 4
2011 Senior Level

Note: Children can opt to contest for higher level than their eligibility level defined above. However, higher grade children can't pick lower level.

Format: The spelling bee is conducted in 2 rounds. First round will be conducted in written, second round will be conducted orally. Written round will have 2 sections.

Written Round Section 1: This round challenges students to find the incorrectly spelled word in groups of four words. 15 questions will be asked in this round. Following is the sample question.

Q: Circle the misspelled word
a. City
b. Teim
c. Things
d. Card

Written Round Section 2: This round challenges students to test skills (1) Correct spelling of the word (2) Commonly confused words. There will be 5 questions in each of the above skill (total 10 questions both together).

Q: Find the word that spelled correctly (5 questions)
1. Your answer: _______
a. confidance
b.confidence
c. confedense
d. None of the above

Q: Fill in the blank (5 questions)
1. The knot she tied was very ________
a. Loose
b. Lose
c. Loos
d. None of the above

Round 2 (Oral round): Each speller will be asked to spell a word orally in this round. For lower grades, children will be asked to write a word. All participants will get same words if they are asked to write a word, else each participant will get a different word if asked to spell orally.

Word list: Click here to view the word list and practice material for all the levels. After practicing words from Word List, you can take a test on-line, practice the spelling and play spelling bee game on-line here. Questions for written and Oral rounds will be asked only from the word list published in the website; however, a tiebreak (if applicable) round will have words outside of this word list. We have provided reference links for each word from Wikipedia.org and Dictionary.com to assist the children in exploring each word in addition to spelling the word.

Display all words: You can list all words for each level by clicking on "Display All Words".

Score: Each correctly spelled word will get one point for the speller.

Championship: There will be 3 winners (first, second & third places) in each level.

Prizes: Certificate and a trophy will be awarded to winners.

Tiebreak: If tiebreak is needed in deciding winners, the speller will be eliminated in tiebreak upon incorrectly spelling a word. If all spellers incorrectly spell the word, a new round will start again with all the spellers in tiebreak until the first, second & third places are decided. PS: Tiebreak round will have words from outside the Word Lists. All participants will get same words if they are asked to write a word, else each participant will get a different word if asked to spell orally.

Coordinator's role: The coordinator is the judge who will uphold the rules and determine whether or not words are spelled correctly. They are in complete control of the contest, and their decision is final on all questions.

Speller's requests: The speller may request for a definition, sentence and part of speech. The pronouncer responds with the information available in dictionary.

Pronouncer's sense of helpfulness: The pronouncer may offer word information "without the speller having requested the information", if the pronouncer senses that the information is helpful.

Interaction with the speller: Because seeing the speller's lip movements may be critical in detecting misunderstandings or misspellings, the coordinators encourage spellers to face them when pronouncing and spelling the word.

Copy of rules: Parents are given an opportunity to receive a complete copy of the rules prior to the contest date.

Parent's involvement: Parents can get a printed copy of rules from website. No parent or siblings or other kids will be allowed in the class room other than the volunteers. Parents can bring any disputes to the attention of a lead coordinator or a lead organizer present at the venue.

Misunderstandings: The judges participate in the exchange of information between the speller and pronouncer if they feel that clarification is needed. Also, the judges listen carefully to the speller's pronunciation of the word; and, if they sense that the speller has misunderstood the word, the judges work with the speller and pronouncer until they are satisfied that reasonable attempts have been made to assist the speller in understanding the word. While the judges are responsible for attempting to detect a speller's misunderstanding, it is sometimes impossible to detect a misunderstanding until a spelling error has been made: The judges are not responsible for the speller's misunderstanding.

Disqualifications for reasons other than clear misspelling: The judges will disqualify a speller (1) who came late to the contest (2) who refuses a request to start spelling; (3) who does not comply with the eligibility requirements; (4) who engages in unsportsmanlike conduct; (5) who, in the process of retracing a spelling, alters the letters or sequence of letters from those first uttered.

Speller activities that do not merit disqualification: The judges may not disqualify a speller (1) for failing to pronounce the word either before or after spelling it, (2) for asking a question, or (3) for noting or failing to note the capitalization of a word.

Speller's role: The speller makes an effort to face the judges and pronounce the word for the judges before spelling it and after spelling it. The speller while facing the judges makes an effort to utter each letter distinctly and with sufficient volume to be understood by the judges.

Speller Misunderstandings: : The speller is responsible for any misunderstanding of the word unless (1) the pronouncer never provided a correct pronunciation; (2) the pronouncer provided incorrect information regarding the definition or part of speech; or (3) the speller correctly spelled a homonym of the word and the pronouncer failed to either offer a definition or distinguish the homonyms.

Correction of a misspelling: The pronouncer and judges will not ask the speller to correct another speller's misspelling.

Special needs: Spelling bee coordinators will strive to provide accommodation for spellers who have physical challenges. All requests for spelling bee coordinators to accommodate special needs involving sight, hearing, speech, or movement should be directed to spelling bee coordinators well in advance of the spelling bee date. The judges have discretionary power to amend oral and/or written spelling requirements on a case-by-case basis for spellers with diagnosed medical conditions involving sight, hearing, speech, or movement.

Please note: Bighelp is not associated with any of the local or national spelling bees, these rules are exclusively customized for the Bighelp Spelling Bee contest. It is the responsibility of spellers to check the rules of other spelling bee contests before appearing them.