Character Bee Rules and Procedures

Arrival and Check-in

• Fourth & fifth grade students, please begin checking in at 4:45pm, so we may start promptly at 5:00pm. Younger siblings may check in at the same time. The doors will close at 5pm for the 4th & 5th grade Bees. 
• First, second, and third grade students, please begin checking in at 5:45pm, so we may start promptly at 6:00pm. The doors will close at 6pm for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade Bees.  
• Students may not have their phones, iPads, or other electronic devices with them during the Bee. 

Chinese Characters Presented

1. First grade students will be presented with the 1st grade CI sight words. After all the CI sight words are presented, the HSK challenge words will be presented. 
2. Second to Fifth grade students will be presented with a mix of current grade level sight words and sight words from prior years. The majority of the characters presented will be from the current grade sight word list. After all the sight words are presented, the HSK sight words words for the students’ current grade level will be presented.
3. We will not present HSK Challenge words from other grade levels. Each Chinese character is only presented once, even if the previous student answers incorrectly. 

Character Bee Set-up 

1. Upon arriving at the Bee, each student will receive a random number that determines the order in which they will be called to take their turn.
2. Students will be seated in numerical order. They will be seated facing the judges.
3. Students will speak into a microphone, if necessary, to give their answer. They will have a chance to practice using the microphone before the Bee begins.

Character Bee Procedures and Rules

1. Each Bee will have three judges. The Judges are elementary CI Chinese teachers and native Mandarin-speaking volunteers. Parents will be assigned to judge grade-level Bees different from their students’ grade levels. 
2. The Bee is set up in rounds. The first two rounds will be “confidence-building rounds.” Students will remain in the Bee whether their answers are correct or incorrect. 
3. We will begin the competition with the third round.
4. Students will be called by number and name to the microphone for their turn.
5. Each student will be presented with a Chinese character.
   1. The student will be given 10 seconds to identify the character in Chinese and give the meaning in English. 
   2.  If the student cannot give meaning in English, but can use the word properly in a Chinese sentence, the answer is correct.
   3. Both the identification in Chinese and the English meaning (or correct Chinese sentence) must be provided for the answer to be “correct.”
6. If a student identifies the character within 10 seconds, they will be allowed to finish giving the meaning in English within approximately 15 seconds total.
7. If the Judges need to give additional instructions to the student, the clock will stop. Ex. If the Judges cannot hear the student and need to ask the student to speak louder, the clock will stop and start again after the judges’ instructions. Students will only be given the opportunity to speak louder once per turn. 
8. If the student’s answer is correct, the the student will return to their seat and proceed to the next round.
9. If a student’s answer is incorrect, the student will have the remaining time (up to 10 seconds) to correct their mistake.
   1. If not able to correct their mistake, the student is “out” of the competition. They will sit quietly with their classmates for the remainder of the Bee. 
   2. If able to correct their mistake within the timeframe, the student will return to their seat and proceed to the next round. 

Special situations: 

1. The Judges will review any special situations as they arise. The majority vote of the three Judges will resolve the situation.  
2. This is a friendly competition to promote mastery of the Chinese Characters. Our goal is to encourage the students. Therefore, students will be given some grace in that pronunciations are not expected to be perfect and English meaning does not need to be the exact words listed on the sight word lists or Quizlets to be correct.  
3. To be as consistent as possible, the Judges will follow this criteria: if the student’s answer would be marked correct in an oral test in their CI class, the student’s answer will also be correct in the Bee. 
4. Please respect the Judges’ decisions. 

Completion of the Bee and Declaring a Winner

1. The Bee will proceed through the rounds until a winner is determined. However, we will be considerate of family schedules. If our time is up, we will complete the last round, and if necessary, we will recognize all the students who answered correctly in the last round as the winners.
2. If all remaining students answer incorrectly during a round, everyone competing in that round will return to the competition (otherwise there is no clear winner).
3. If there is a tie for first, second or third place and time is available, the Judges will determine if there is enough time to proceed with a tie-breaker.  We appreciate your understanding and respect for the Judge’s decisions.
4. Students making it through the rounds of all their grade level sight words will recieve a certificate.
5. Students will be congratulated at the conclusion of the Bee.

Thank you for participating in the Character Bee!  We appreciate your support for this event and BCIC programs. Join our Facebook group to stay connected with the BCIC and CI communities!