The fifth grader at Break-O-Day Elementary School still remembers what word took her out in the annual spelling bee last year.
Jacey Walker was the runner-up in the 2018 Johnson County Spelling bee. She outspelled 19 other spellers, but fell when just her and one other speller remained. She was asked to spell “mileage,” and that word spelled her demise.
She vowed to study more to make sure that does not happen again.
“I thought maybe if I tried harder and study even more than I did last time, that maybe I could do better,” she said.
For weeks, students have spent time studying hundreds of words to prepare themselves for the annual Johnson County Spelling Bee, sponsored by the Daily Journal and the Franklin Community Teachers Association.
Nineteen of the county’s top spellers in grades 3 to 5 are preparing to spell words such as “valorous” and “accreditation” at Needham Elementary School.
Each student had to win his or her school spelling bee to make it to the county spelling bee.
A trophy and the chance to compete at the next level are at stake.
Spell check and auto correct won’t save them if they don’t know how to spell a word. They will have only their memory and listening skills to help propel them through the competition.
So, their only solution is to study and hope it carries them through.
Walker has spent nearly every evening since early March studying and brushing up for the Johnson County Spelling Bee.
Her mother quizzes her and she writes down every word she misses at least 10 times to sharpen her skills, she said.
Kate Hankins, a fourth grade student at Westwood Elementary School, has spent almost every day practicing the words.
Her strategy involves breaking each word into syllables to make sure she can sound it out and spell it correctly, she said.
And Hankins knows the stakes of being a good speller, realizing that spell check will not be there all the time to correct her when she is an adult.
“When you get older, you need to know how to spell and not just use spell check,” she said.
Addison Holman has been reading more to prepare for the spelling bee.
The fourth grader at Needham Elementary School already likes to read and her teacher shared with her that reading is a good way to increase spelling skills, Holman said.
So if she sees a difficult word in a book she is reading, she takes the time to look it up, she said.
“If you can read the words, you are most likely able to spell them,” Holman said.
Holman also has tricks she is planning on using to help get her through the bee once she is standing up in front of the judges and facing spelling a word in front of the judges and hundreds of audience members, she said.
