Spelling test

Spelling tests are associated with linguistic prescriptivism, the idea that language should be used in a certain manner as opposed to others.

The practice originated in the United States and has since spread to elsewhere in the English-speaking world, especially North America.

It is not, however, a very familiar concept in most Commonwealth nations, where, if the term is known at all, it is usually perceived as a peculiar American tradition.

Every year in the United States, there is a national spelling bee involving most primary and secondary schools in the country; in addition to being awarded a scholarship, the winners in each age group get to meet the President of the United States.

Or it might be a silly sentence or visual image to help remember the word, like "the independents all dented their cars with sledgehammers".