Thank you to HEB and the Harris County Department of Education for their financial support of the 2016
Houston Public Media Spelling Bee.
About the Houston Public Media Spelling Bee
Houston Public Media is a partnering sponsor with the Scripps
National Spelling Bee.
The Houston Public Media Spelling Bee is
the second largest local spelling bee in the
country with 1000+ schools participating
from 42 Texas counties. Through a series of
school bees, school district/regional bees, and
the final Houston Public Media Bee, the top
two spellers advance to the Scripps National
Spelling Bee in Washington, DC.
geographical area
Angelina, Austin, Bastrop, Brazoria,
Brazos, Burleson, Caldwell, Chambers,
Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston,
Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Hays,
Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Lee, Leon,
Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Milam,
Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton,
Orange, Polk, Robertson, Sabine, San
Augustine, San Jacinto, Travis, Trinity,
Tyler, Walker, Waller, Washington,
Wharton, and Williamson counties
Speller Eligibility
The program is open to students who have neither turned 16 nor passed beyond the eighth grade, and who
attend schools that are officially enrolled with Scripps National Spelling Bee. Complete listing of eligibility
requirements, www.spellingbee.com/eligibility.
Houston Public Media Spelling Bee 2016 Information for Home Schools
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How to Participate (Fall Semester 2016)
See deadlines in this section
Home Schools IN the Greater Houston Area
Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, Chambers, Liberty and Waller counties
If you are a home school in the counties listed above, you must register
with Horizons Education Center by November 14, 2015 to participate.
To register, go to http://www.horizonseducationcenter.com. Click on
“Scripps – Qualifying Spelling Bee 2016.”
Home Schools OUTSIDE of Greater Houston Area
If you do not belong to a Home School Association, contact Connie Hill by October 10, 2015,
[email protected]. (Late registration might be possible through December 11.)
If you belong to a Home School Association, check if your association is enrolled with Scripps National Spelling
Bee, https://secure.spellingbee.com/enrollment/check.
a) If your Home School Association is enrolled, contact them ASAP to participate. Each Home School
Association has its own speller registration process and timeline.
b) If your Home School Association is not enrolled, contact Connie Hill by October 10, 2015,
[email protected]. (Late registration might be possible through December 11.)
Fall Semester Spelling Bee Program
You cannot participate unless you have registered as per the instructions on page 2.
Spelling Bee Information and Study Words Lists are available from the enrolled Home School
Associations. If you need more information, contact Connie Hill, [email protected].
Many students ask what words will be used in the bee. A ‘spelling bee’ is different than a typical ‘spelling
test’. In a spelling bee, the spellers do not know which word(s) will be called. The early rounds of the bee are
selected from the Study Words Lists. Later rounds are selected from the dictionary and are not on the Study
Words List.
Your fall spelling bee will begin with words selected from the Study Words you received and progress to words
that are not from the Study Words.
During the bee, spellers may ask for the following: repeat the word; definition; sentence; part of speech;
language of origin; and alternate pronunciation.
Houston Public Media Spelling Bee 2016 Information for Home Schools
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Region Bees (February 2016)
The top spellers from the Fall Bees advance to one Region Bee.
• Greater Houston Area Home
Schools Bee (Horizons Education
Center)
• (Zone 4 Bee) Jefferson County
• (Zone 5 Bee) Matagorda,
Wharton, Colorado, and Austin
Counties
• (Zone 6 Bee) Orange, Newton,
Tyler, Jasper and Hardin Counties
• (Zone 7 Bee) Angelina,
Nacogdoches, Houston, San
Augustine and Sabine Counties
• (Zone 8 Bee) San Jacinto, Trinity,
Polk, and Walker Counties
• (Zone 9 Bee) Brazos, Grimes,
Leon, Robertson, Madison and
Washington Counties
• (Zone 10 Bee) Travis, Fayette,
Caldwell and Hays Counties
• (Zone 11 Bee) Williamson, Milam,
Lee, Bastrop and Burleson
Counties
The Zoned Region Bees above have a mix of spelling champions from various types of schools: public, private,
charter, virtual, and home schools.
Study materials include the seventh and eighth grade word lists from the School Study Words and ‘Spell It’,
a booklet containing about 1150 words divided by word origin. If you have earned a spot in a Region Bee but
have not received the study materials, contact Connie Hill, [email protected]
The Region Spelling Bee will begin with words selected from the Scripps National Spelling Bee School Study
Words and progress to words selected from ‘Spell It’, and then to words that are not from Scripps National
Spelling Bee Materials. The bee progresses through each of these sections until a champion speller remains.
Houston Public Media Spelling Bee (April 2, 2016)
The top spellers from the February Region Bees advance to the Houston Public Media Spelling Bee.
The 2016 Houston Public Media Spelling Bee will not use the 2016 School Study Words or ‘Spell It’. There are no
official study materials for the Houston Public Media Spelling Bee. All words will be selected from Webster’s
Third New International Dictionary and its addenda section, ©2002 Merriam-Webster.
This spelling bee will be shown in a LIVE broadcast, in the Houston television market, on Saturday, April 2, 2016.
Scripps National Bee (May 2016)
The top two spellers from the Houston Public Media Spelling Bee participate in the Scripps National
Spelling Bee in Washington, DC. All expenses are paid.
Houston Public Media Spelling Bee 2016 Information for Home Schools
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Additional Study Materials
As a courtesy, study links from Spell Success, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization,
http://spellsuccess2u.blogspot.com/, are listed. (Houston Public Media does not endorse any of the blog
postings below nor advocate using them or not using them.)
Consolidated Word List
http://spellsuccess2u.blogspot.com/p/cwl.html
http://spellsuccess2u.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-approach-consolidated-word-list.html
Roots, Suffixes, Prefixes and Spelling Rules
http://spellsuccess2u.blogspot.com/2011/02/latin-words-in-spell-it-roots.html
http://spellsuccess2u.blogspot.com/2011/04/rule-breakers-ei-or-ie-rule.html
http://www.mrjonathan.com/mxrm9files/GrammarPages/prefixes%20&%20Sufixes%20Dictionary.pdf
https://www.learnthat.org/pages/view/roots.html
https://www.learnthat.org/pages/view/suffix.html
Merriam-Webster Resources
http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/
http://www.merriam-webster.com/spell-it/index.htm
http://www.merriam-webster.com/namethatthing/index.htm
http://www.merriam-webster.com/quiz/index.htm
http://learnersdictionary.com/3000-words
Official Dictionary, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary and its addenda section, ©2002 MerriamWebster, http://unabridged.m-w.com/
Spelling Workshop by Syamantak Payra, Friendswood Public Library
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rlyd-_TsrIs
Notes
The Houston Public Media Spelling Bee is the first public broadcaster and the second largest local sponsor of
the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Spellers advance from a challenging series of school, district, and regional
spelling bees: 1000+ schools, 100,000+ spellers, 42 Texas counties. Spelling Bee participation enriches the
language skills of students across the nation with a focus on better spelling, richer vocabulary and correct
English usage. Bee participation also provides confidence-building experience in public-speaking skills.
Houston Public Media Spelling Bee Spelling Bee contact is Connie Hill, [email protected]
Houston Public Media Spelling Bee 2016 Information for Home Schools
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