New Nat's Notes

Study New Nat's Notes, and Master 18,000 Words! 

New Nat's Notes is our largest set of words that is specifically geared toward those aiming for the highest reaches of spelling competition. As seen in the documentary, Spellbound, New Nat's Notes includes 18,000 words from the original Nat's Notes, with hand-selected difficult words from Paideia and the Consolidated Word List (CWL), as well as words used in regional and National Bees from the 1970s to 2007 (including 7,000 words that are not in CWL). This time-tested collection is available in alphabetic and random sequence, and all words have pronunciations, definitions, etymology, and all follow the information in the Webster Third New International Dictionary which is the printed version, not the online version (see 'Update' announcement below). We recommend New Nat's eMentor to get the most updated version of this product! Click here to read about the history of New Nat's Notes and the National Spelling Bee.

New Nat's Notes is one of the core volumes utilized in our Personal Spelling Coach program and is highly recommended for those seeking to study a time-tested list of challenging words.

• This includes phonetic pronunciations, definitions, and etymology.
• New Nat's Notes is composed of four volumes.

Not sure what to order? Watch this video covering all top Hexco products. Or, read this detailed page on how all of our word list products compare to one another.

NOTES: In 2017, Scripps declared Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Online dictionary (subscription) as the new authority for the National Spelling Bee. Currently, we have only updated our eMentor version of this product to reflect these changes. If you are purchasing this printed version, note that the only word spelling that was changed (that we know of), was the word "carosella," which only had one "l" in the printed dictionary, but now has two "L"s! However, over 30% of the words in this product have some change or another, either the elimination of the d-stop in pronunciation (butter is now only <BUHT.uhr>, and meter is now only <MEET.uhr>), a change in the part of speech (many geographic terms that were defined only as adjectives are now only nouns), the alteration of the ending sound of a word from 'it' to 'uht' (rabbit/pundit), or other changes. Order the eMentor version of New Nat's Notes to study online. This product may not be returned.

Would you like this product with audio? Order the New Nat's eMentor!

FAQ: Should I buy Random or Alpha sequence?

Traditionally, studying alphabetically has been the norm and seemingly the most logical since that is how the dictionary is arranged. However, Random sequence New Nat's Notes can be more challenging than Alpha sequence since a speller being quizzed by words in alphabetic order can easily guess the first letter of a word. For instance, a speller could easily confuse cynology and sitology if the list is in random order. Also, if a speller has never seen the word "gigantic," the first letter could sound like a "j" or a "g". However, if the speller knew that they were studying in the "g" section, the challenge of spelling the word without a prompt might be missed. Random sequence is enjoyed by parents or coaches who strive to keep assignments varied and interesting while making verbal quizzing sessions more indicative of a student's knowledge. Click the above links to view inside each product before buying. Good luck and good spelling!

Learn how the National Spelling Bee champions made it to the top by using our Hexco spelling bee products!