How To Spell Like a Champ covers everything you want to know about spelling....and some things you don't. A compendium of knowledge about English language, phonics rules, usage, the relationship of meaning to word construction, irregularities and foreign words, this text was designed as a primer for students on their way to the National Spelling Bee. While some of the tips will only be useful to those students (such as when and how to study as much as possible), every student learning to spell and read will benefit from this either as a cover-to-cover read or a reference tool.
Most of the book is simply text, but the last chapter contains a variety of word-related games and exercises to increase spelling proficiency. Some of these are difficult even for adults, and there are no answers, but solving each puzzle is a great way to implement much of the knowledge introduced in the rest of the book. An accompanying audio CD provides 5 samples of actual spelling bees for students to practice, as well as tracks containing beginning, intermediate and advanced words for students to spell on their own. Fun illustrations and interesting asides add interest to this volume—a volume that will improve any child's (and many adults') spelling skills.
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