April 9th, 2013
04:04 PM ET

National Spelling Bee adds vocabulary challenge

By CNN Staff

(CNN) - It's not enough to be a fantastic speller anymore. A student who wants to win the National Spelling Bee must now be a whiz at vocabulary. The Scripps National Spelling Bee will add the evaluation of vocabulary to the competition's early rounds, according to a release from the bee.

"It represents a deepening of the bee's commitment to its purpose: to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives," said Paige Kimble, the director of the bee.

"Spelling and vocabulary are, in essence, two sides of the same coin," she said. "As a child studies the spelling of a word and its etymology, he will discover its meaning. As a child learns the meaning of a word, it becomes easier to spell. And all of this enhances the child's knowledge of the English language."

Read the full story

Posted by
Filed under: Spelling • Students
soundoff (4 Responses)
  1. Sumedh

    Although I am not participating in the National Spelling Bee this June, I am an intense speller, and I know that vocabulary is a major role in spelling. We need to know what words mean for them to be used correctly. Good job, Scripps!

    April 15, 2013 at 9:35 pm |
    • Sumedh

      Also, the judges need to really look at who truly knows the word, and has the most knowledge about each and every word.

      April 15, 2013 at 9:37 pm |
  2. Melvin

    They shouldn't because it's called a spelling bee for a reason.

    April 12, 2013 at 2:47 pm |
  3. bthomas23

    I wish i can be in a spelling bee all i have to do is try and work hard.

    April 10, 2013 at 5:49 pm |