S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G BEE

Tonight was the 81st Annual National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. (Yes, I watched it... it's the teacher in me.) What an impressive competition!

My coaching tip #1: PLAY DETECTIVE
May I have the definition, please?
May I have the etymology, please?
Are there any alternate pronunciations?
Could you please use it in a sentence?
May I have the language of origin?
Am I pronouncing the word correctly?
What is the part of speech?
Can I have anymore help?
Is there any other information you can give me?

My coaching tip #2: TAKE YOUR TIME, BUT WATCH THE CLOCK.
Tonight on the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Jahnavi Iyer, 14 years old, an eigth grader at Eagleview Middle School in Enola, Pa., was given the word P-A-R-F-L-E-C-H-E. (Definition: A rawhide that has been dried after having it soaked in a lye solution to remove the hair.) Intimidated by the word... Time was running down. Clock read: 1: 48 seconds. Time keeper asked, "Jahnavi... do you see the clock?" In a subdued voice, she replied calmly, "Yea, um... It's a VERY pretty clock." Funny!

My coaching tip #3: I'M ALREADY PROUD OF YOU. BE SURE TO SPELL THE WORD CORRECTLY. HENSE, THIS IS A SPELLING BEE.
And the winner is? Sameer Mishra of West Lafayette, Ind., He aced the word G-U-E-R-D-O-N and won the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., tonight. The word appropriately means "something that one has earned or gained."

This is a must see video of the winner! He brought a little much needed humor to the somewhat tense National Spelling Bee when he was asked to spell the word
N-U-M-N-A-H, but mistakenly thought he was told to spell
N-U-M-N-U-T-S. Hilarious!