Kofi and the Spelling Contest

A story about nerves, practice and being a good sport.

Kofi had been chosen to represent his class in the school spelling contest. He was proud and a little frightened. The contest was in the hall, in front of the whole school, and his words might be very hard.

That evening, he told his grandmother about it. “I am worried that I will forget a letter,” he said. She patted the sofa. “Come, sit,” she said. “I have a few tricks.”

“First, say the word out loud. Then say each sound slowly. Then picture it in your head, as if it were written on a wall.” She tested him on words like “rhythm” and “necessary.” Kofi found that if he pictured them in colours, they stuck.

They practised every evening for a week. Kofi made little rhymes. “Necessary has one collar and two sleeves,” he said, for the one c and two s’s. His grandmother giggled. “That is brilliant,” she said.

On the day, Kofi’s palms were sweaty. He walked up to the microphone and took a deep breath. The teacher read out his first word. “Island.” He said it slowly, pictured it, and spelled it. I-S-L-A-N-D. The teacher said, “Correct.”

His next words were easy, and then harder. After six rounds, only three children were left. Then the teacher read out, “Embarrass.” Kofi spelled it, E-M-B-A-R-A-S. He stopped. It did not look right. “That is incorrect,” said the teacher.

Kofi’s cheeks burned. But he took a breath, shook the winner’s hand, and said, “Well done.” The winner, a girl called Pia, said, “That was a hard word.” Kofi was surprised to find that he felt okay.

After the contest, his grandmother hugged him. “You were brave,” she said. “And now you will never forget the double r and double s.” Kofi grinned. “Em-bar-rass,” he said. “Two r’s and two s’s.” He knew it for life.

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