2. Spelling Can Be Tricky

2 Spelling Can Be Tricky "Okay, let's start with spelling," Miss Banks announced after we pledged the allegiance. "You kids are going to become great spellers in fourth grade." "I love spelling!" said Andrea, who loves anything to do with school. "Me too!" said Emily, who loves everything Andrea loves.

"That's great," said Miss Banks, "because spelling is very important. If you want to get ahead in the world, you need to know how to spell. But spelling can also be tricky. For instance, who can spell the word 'spell'?" "Oooooh... oooooh... ooooh!" Andrea looked like she was going to pop a lung if Miss Banks didn't call on her. "'Spell' is spelled S-P-E-L-L," Andrea said proudly. As if that was hard! Any dumbhead knows how to spell the word "spell." "Very good, Andrea," said Miss Banks. "Now, can you spell the word 'misspell'?" "M-I-S-P-E-L-L," said Andrea. "No, sorry," said Miss Banks. "There are two s's in 'misspell.' You spelled 'spell' correctly, but you misspelled 'misspell.' See what I mean about spelling being tricky?" Andrea looked mad, like it was Miss Banks's fault that she misspelled "misspell." It may have been the first time

in her life that Little Miss Perfect made a mistake. "Let's try another one," said Miss Banks. "Who can spell the word 'wrong'? A.J., how about you?" "Sure," I said. "I can spell any word wrong." Everybody laughed even though I didn't say anything funny. "Go ahead, A.J.," said Miss Banks. "Spell it." "I-T," I said. "It." "No," said Miss Banks. "Spell the word 'wrong.'" "What word?" I asked. "'Wrong,'" said Miss Banks. "How can I be wrong?" I complained. "I didn't even spell the word yet!" "I mean spell the word 'wrong,' A.J.," said Miss Banks. "Like when you do something wrong." "Oh," I said. "That's different. R-O-NG."

"I'm sorry," said Miss Banks. "That's wrong." "But you told me to spell the word 'wrong'!" I complained. "I mean you spelled 'wrong' wrong," said Miss Banks. "I can spell 'wrong'!" shouted Andrea. "'Wrong' is spelled W-R-O-N-G." "That's right, Andrea," said Miss Banks. "No," I said. "'Right' is R-I-G-H-T. Andrea's wrong." "Well, you spelled 'right' right, A.J.," said Miss Banks. "But you spelled 'wrong' wrong. Andrea spelled 'wrong' right, and—" Miss Banks stopped for a moment, took a handkerchief out of her pocket, and wiped her forehead with it. "Okay, I'm going to pass out—" "She's gonna pass out!" Michael shouted. "Call an ambulance!" "Give her air!" shouted Alexia.

"I'm going to pass out sheets of paper," continued Miss Banks. Ohhhhhhhhh. They should definitely have different ways to say "pass out." "We're going to have a little spelling test," said Miss Banks, "to see how well you

spell." Ugh. I hate tests. We all took out pencils as Miss Banks passed around the papers. "I'm going to say ten words," said Miss Banks. "You try to spell them. Ready?" It seemed simple enough. "Is there a prize for the winner?" asked Andrea, who loves winning prizes. She probably has a trophy room at home with all the prizes she's won. "No," said Miss Banks. "This is just for fun. Your first word is... 'burf.'" What? "What's a burf?" whispered Neil. I never heard of a burf. But teachers always tell us that if we can't spell a word, we should try to sound it out. I wrote B-UR- F on my paper. "The next word is 'spinkheimer,'" said Miss Banks. That's a tough one. I tried to sound it out. It wasn't easy.