Are you smarter than an eighth grader?
Categories: Teens & tweens, Fun & activities, Education, Gadgets & tech, That's entertainment
Well, can you at least spell better than one? Here's a good way to find out. MSN Encarta, one of my favorite sites for educational diversions (if there can be such a thing) is offering a spelling test for you to find out. Encarta is a great escape that also lets you know how much you may or may not remember from your school days (you know, way back when?).
There are only ten questions. To some that may mean a lot of pressure and to others not so much. I remember when I lost a spelling contest. I was actually in the 4th grade, not even the 8th, and was one of only two competitors left. I misspelled "diá," the Spanish word for "day" because I misplaced the accent mark.
I guess spelling is ultimately not just about words, but about attention to detail. It also proves you can't trust any of the English-language rules about letters coming before or after each other, silent letters and all that other stuff that befuddles us as we make our way through school.
So, how did I do on the quiz? I'll be honest. I got them all right, but I had a little help from my husband on one of them!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ninainindia 5-17-2008 @ 11:30AM
I got 9 out of 10. English is not my first language and I do not live in a country where English is the main language so I'm quite proud of myself.
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Judy 5-17-2008 @ 1:42PM
I got 9/10 as well. I missed the last one, but it was from carelessness and paying to much attention to the end of the word.
I was a spelling bee champ as a kid in our school, and have always been a good speller. I do sometimes wonder what causes some to be good spellers and others not. I've known a few otherwise very well-educated highly intelligent people who just could not spell well at all! And even my husband - an English professor and writer of all things - will sometimes misspell the strangest words, like Popsicle.
I don't know that I would have gotten them all without a multiple choice test - there was one other I was unsure of. That would be a much trickier way to go..
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Trisha 5-17-2008 @ 2:45PM
I got 9/10!!!! I was surprised, but very pleased. I'm a pretty good speller but I didn't think I got that many right:)
Reply
Alyssa 5-18-2008 @ 7:59AM
I got 9/10 too. This was really surprising, since I have never heard four of those words in my life, and two others were only vaguely familiar! I'm Australian, so maybe I've learnt different words. Who knows?
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the goddess anna 5-18-2008 @ 10:21AM
I got 10/10, but it's likely that I scored that because it was a multiple-choice test, not because I'm anything of a good speller.
It was a nice little brain-teaser, though!
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