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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: spelling bee

spelling bee stories: 6 news summaries

 Kansas Girl Wins Spelling  
 Bee With 'Laodicean' 

Shivashankar becomes national spelling champ after getting 'laodicean' right

May 28, 09 10:37 PM CDT
(AP) - Cool and collected, Kavya Shivashankar wrote out every word on her palm and always ended with a smile. The 13-year-old Kansas girl saved the biggest smile for last, when she rattled off the letters to "Laodicean" to become the nation's spelling champion. The budding neurosurgeon outlasted 11 finalists tonight... More »

MORE ABOUT:
spelling bee • Scripps National Spelling Bee

 11 Make It to Spelling Bee Finals 

Week began with record 293 spellers

May 28, 09 1:39 PM CDT
(AP) - Eleven youngsters have advanced to tonight's finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee after surviving today's three semifinal rounds, which began with 41 candidates. Only five were eliminated in the first round, then 20 exited in an extremely difficult second round that knocked out some returning favorites. Among the words... More »

MORE ABOUT:
children • competition • spelling bee • Scripps National Spelling Bee

 Prof Argues for Looser Spelling 

English-speaking pupils hamstrung by non-phonetic words, apostrophes

Sep 8, 08 2:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - A British academic argues that English-speaking schoolchildren waste time learning the peculiarities of spelling, and should be given more freedom to spell phonetically, the Times of London reports. Children studying in languages with more phonetic writing systems, like Finnish or Italian, don’t need to waste classroom time on spelling,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • United Kingdom • school • Britain • spelling • spelling bee

 Phonetics Reformers
 Buzzing at Spelling Bee 

Revitalized movement wants to simplify the language

May 30, 08 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Every year, the National Spelling Bee sparks a protest from an 800-year-old movement that aims to simplify spelling by using phonetics, the Wall Street Journal reports. (Think thru vs. through.) “We have 42 different sounds in English, and we spell them 400 different ways,” says the 102-year-old... More »

MORE ABOUT:
English • spelling • spelling bee • grammar

What It Takes
to Become a C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N

Spelling bee winners weigh in on dos and don'ts of success

May 27, 08 7:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Prevailing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee isn't easy, say former contestants and winners, but it can change your life. "To be a champion, I think it takes a certain tenaciousness and a will to succeed, and that will pretty much take you far in anything," 1973 winner... More »

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spelling bee

Science Smackdowns Aid Search for 'Bill Gates 2.0'

Popularity of math, science competitions shoots off the charts

May 19, 08 5:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - With the days when the space program inspired American students to embrace science and math a distant memory, the US is counting on competition among schoolkids to return the country as a whole to a leading role, the Christian Science Monitor reports. High-level science fairs and math bowls are potential... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • science • National Science Foundation • mathematics • spelling • spelling bee • International Science and Engineering Fair

6 Stories


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