Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for many of the word lists that have been used by spellers over the last 20 years. One of the problems that starting spellers face is finding resources that provide word information beyond just lists, like etymology, definitions, and pronunciations. Here are some of the best places I’ve selected for finding this information.
A few techniques that spellers use:
- Excel: Excel is a very versatile tool used by champion spellers like Aisha Randhawa (2019 Scripps finalist) and others. There is a way to add macros to Excel so that you can have a sheet with a row per spelling (with all the information like meaning, root, etc.) but the spelling is hidden until you type it in. You can see how it works here, try it out by entering your spellings in the green column (please feel free to copy it and use it).
- SpellPundit: SpellPundit is a great resource used by champion spellers like Zaila Avant-Garde but it is expensive and it tends to be more useful as you get to the higher tiers of spelling because that’s when its exhaustiveness is really useful. The one advantage of SpellPundit over other tools is that you can rely on audio pronunciations instead of having to learn diacritical terms that are hard to master for beginning spellers.
- Anki: This is an open source software that Erin Howard (2019 co-champion) among others have used. It uses spaced repetition – which is an efficient way to memorize a large number of words. You can read about spaced repetition here.
- Mighty Words: www.mightywords.co is another free software that uses spaced repetition. The good thing about this software is that it has the most exhaustive list of stems and also offers a great way to learn vocabulary words. All the North-South bee lists from prior years and the current year are available here. This tool also offers audio pronunciations, so you don’t need to rely on learning diacritical terms.
- If you prefer to avoid screen-based ways of learning, Hexco has a great list of books that you can buy. The advantage of these books is that they display pronunciations without using the diacritical terms that Merriam-Webster uses (which can be hard to master for beginning spellers).
- Another great off-screen resource is Words of Wisdom by Scott Remer (2008 Scripps finalist and elite spelling coach). It covers details of roots, stems, and language patterns as well as detailed word lists tailored for Scripps.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions about onboarding to any of these tools.