The Selma Times-Journal

Scrabble, anyone?

Enrichment class students in the Dallas County School System got to spend a few hours out of class to compete in a Scrabble tournament

Friday at the Dallas County Learning Resource Center on Water Avenue.

The winners are as follows:

Third and fourth grade division: first place, Tori Hatfield and Jacob Cope; second place, Robert Girlie and Dakota Sanders; third place, Jekeria Harrison and Khayriyah Atkins.

Fifth and sixth grade division: first place,

Kaitlyn Allen and Holly Jones; second place, Challen Spradley and Alana Hatter; third place, Prince Tolbert and Austin Tyler.

A total of 117 students were invited to participate in the tournament. Students played on teams of one or two, and those who garnered the most points earned a spot at a regional tournament at the University of West Alabama.

The students, ranging from grades three through six, were bussed in Friday morning from Brantley Elementary, B.K. Craig Elementary, Shiloh Elementary,

Five Points Elementary, Valley Grande Elementary, and J.E. Terry Elementary.

A lesson plan developed

by Karen Dismukes, a teacher of the gifted education program,

lists several

benefits of Scrabble,

which include sharpened spelling skills, expanded vocabulary and better handling of a dictionary,

improved spatial relationship skills from spelling on the board,

and sharpened math and team player skills.

The students practiced for the tournament as part of their weekly enrichment classes, and learned how to build larger words, Dismukes said.

Kelsey Tripp, Jr., a sixth-grader at Brantley Elementary,

said the hardest word for him to come up with was &8220;juices,&8221; for 45 points and the one word he would use to describe the tournament

was &8220;stunning.&8221;