Free Read-a-Thon Printables

Reading logs, a pledge sheet, bingo cards, a certificate, organizer checklists and an editable parent letter in English and Spanish. All free to print and copy.

Updated · How we write and update guides

Short answer: Download 16 free read-a-thon files here: 13 PDFs (two-week, K–2, Spanish and all-ages family reading logs, English and Spanish pledge sheets, bingo cards, a class tally, a planning checklist, a teacher one-pager, a front office guide, a treasurer's count sheet and a reading certificate), a tracking spreadsheet, and an editable parent letter in English and Spanish. Every printable and letter also comes in an unbranded version with a line for your own group's name. The PDFs print on US Letter in black and white, carry no dates or contact fields, and are free to copy.

Every printable a read-a-thon needs is on this page, free to copy for your school, library, scout troop or community group. 13 of them are US Letter PDFs ready to print. The parent letter comes as two editable Word files, in English and Spanish, so you can add your dates and goal, and the treasurer's tracking sheet is an Excel spreadsheet. They are grouped by who uses them. For how they fit into the whole event, see our read-a-thon planning guide.

Branded or unbranded. Every printable and both parent letters come in two versions. The standard one carries a small Walk-A-Thon.com logo and footer. The unbranded one has no logo or site name, just a blank line at the top for your school, library or group name, for districts and libraries that don't send home third-party branding. The content is identical.

For readers

Hand one log to each reader on kickoff day; the parent letter went home about two weeks earlier. Bingo is optional, for groups that want something extra.

  • Two-week reading log14 day boxes with a line for minutes and a grown-up's initials, plus a minutes goal, a short list of titles read and a total line. Use it for grades 3 and up, and for any one- or two-week event.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF
  • K–2 color-a-book log40 book outlines to color, one per 10 minutes, so a full page is 400 minutes. It notes that reading in any language counts. Use it for pre-readers and early readers who can't yet add up minutes.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF
  • Registro de lectura (Spanish reading log)The two-week log in Spanish, with the same layout and fields as the English log. Offer it to every family that reads at home in Spanish.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF
  • Family reading log (all ages)21 day boxes with minutes and who read, and no teacher line, so a whole household can log together. Use it for library, community and three-week events, or any group with adult and teen readers.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF
  • Reading bingo, grades 3–5Four different ready-made 5×5 cards with reading challenges and a free center square. Listening to a book and being read to count as reading on every square. Hand them out mid-event to add variety.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF

Advice on what counts as reading and how to collect and total logs is on our reading log and minutes-tracking page.

For families and supporters

  • Parent letter (English)An editable letter that explains the dates, what counts as reading, how to take part, and the two due dates: logs to the teacher, then money separately to the office. Fill in the bracketed blanks before you print or email it.Download DOCX · Unbranded DOCX
  • Parent letter (Spanish)The same letter in Spanish, also editable. Send it to families who prefer Spanish, or print the two letters back to back.Download DOCX · Unbranded DOCX
  • Pledge sheet14 supporter lines. Each line has the supporter's first name or initials, flat or per minute (circle one), the amount, a cap for per-minute pledges and a paid column. A worked cap example is printed at the bottom.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF
  • Hoja de promesas (Spanish pledge sheet)The pledge sheet in Spanish, with a line for your pledge menu, a "checks payable to" line and no contact fields. Send it with the Spanish parent letter.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF

The full letter text, plus donor emails, text messages and thank-you notes, is on our read-a-thon letter and message templates page. A field-by-field walkthrough of the sheet, with a filled-in example, is in our guide to using the read-a-thon pledge sheet.

For organizers and treasurers

  • Planning checklistOne page with check boxes in five phases: 6–8 weeks before, 3–5 weeks before, 1–2 weeks before, during reading, and after. Pin it above your desk or bring it to the first planning meeting.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF
  • Donation count sheet16 lines for check number or cash, who it's from, amount, reader or class, and whether a receipt is needed. Totals for cash and checks, signature lines for two counters, and a place for the deposit slip number.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF
  • Tracking sheet (Excel)The treasurer's spreadsheet. A Readers tab has one row per reader (initials or ID) for log returned, home minutes, flat gifts, per-minute owed after caps, collected and outstanding. A Classes tab adds in-class minutes from the tally and shows each class's percentage of its goal. A Pledge helper tab applies each supporter's cap for you, a Deposits tab checks that every dollar collected reached the bank, an Expenses tab tracks spending against the budget, and a Board report tab fills itself from the others. Totals calculate automatically.Download XLSX
  • Front office and desk guideOne page for the school office or library desk staff who receive money envelopes: don't open them, log each one unopened, lock them away, and never count money or give receipts. It includes an envelope log and blanks for who holds the key.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF

For teachers

  • Teacher one-pagerWhat the organizing team asks of classrooms: hand out logs, mention the event twice, collect logs in the envelope provided (money goes to the office, not to you), write the class's in-class minutes on the class tally (one number a day), and flag students who need another way to take part. It also lists what teachers don't need to do: handle money, chase pledges, check minutes or rank students. Put one in every teacher's mailbox before launch.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF
  • Class minutes tallyA wall chart with 21 day rows, enough for a three-week event, for minutes added, running total and the number of readers who logged. It shows the class's progress without listing any student by name.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF

Celebrate

  • Reading certificateA full-page certificate with blanks for the reader's name and minutes read. It records minutes, never dollars. Print one for every participant, not only top readers.Download PDF · Unbranded PDF

Printing tips

  • Paper size: every PDF is US Letter. Print at "Actual size" or 100%, not "Fit to page," so the boxes stay a usable size.
  • Black and white is fine. The color accents are light, and every line and box prints clearly in grayscale.
  • Copy freely. Run them on the school copier, share them with another school, or post them on your group's site.
  • Count before you copy. Plan on one log per reader plus about 10% extra for lost copies. Plan on one pledge sheet per reader only if you're collecting on paper.
  • Two-sided printing: the English and Spanish logs work well back to back for bilingual classrooms.
  • Certificates: print them on card stock if your budget allows. Plain paper is fine.

Example A 320-reader school printing one log per reader plus 10% spare needs 320 × 1.1 = 352 logs. If half the readers use paper pledge sheets, that adds 160 sheets.

What's deliberately left off

Two things are missing from every printable, on purpose.

  • No dates. Dates change after printing, and a wrong date on a log is worse than none. Put your dates in the parent letter, which you edit anyway. The same stack of logs then works next year.
  • No contact fields. The logs and pledge sheet travel in backpacks. They ask only for a first name or initials, and never for phone numbers, email or home addresses. A donor who needs a receipt writes a name and address on the sealed money envelope, as the parent letter says, or asks the organizer. The reasons, and what to do about names on public displays, are on our student privacy page.

The materials also never rank readers by dollars. The certificate and class tally both count minutes.

Make your own custom printables

Two free tools make printables these PDFs can't:

  • The reading bingo card generator builds cards for K–2, grades 3–5, grades 6–8 or families, in 3×3, 4×4 or 5×5. You can add your own squares and print a different card for every reader.
  • The read-a-thon planning calendar turns your first reading day into a dated plan and a printable reader calendar with your actual dates on it.

Spanish materials

The reading log, pledge sheet and parent letter come in Spanish. Each matches its English version, so volunteers can total logs from one pile. Before you use them, ask a native Spanish speaker from your own community to review them, so the wording fits how your families speak. If families in your community read in other languages, translate the parent letter first. It carries the dates and rules. The log's numbers and initials are easy to follow with a short translated note stapled on top. Ask families which language they prefer instead of guessing from a name.

Frequently asked questions

Can we add our school or group logo to the printables?

The PDFs aren't editable, but you have two simple options. Print a stack, paste your logo onto one copy and use that as the master for the copier. Or print your logo on address labels and stick one on each log. The parent letter is a Word file, so you can add your logo, colors and signature directly in it.

Do we have to print pledge sheets if supporters can give online?

No. If every family uses an online pledge platform, skip the pledge sheet. Most organizers still print a small stack, because some grandparents and neighbors prefer handing over a check, and some families don't want to share links. Keep a few dozen in the office and say on the parent letter that paper sheets are available on request.

Which printables should a one-day read-in use?

A one-day event needs fewer pieces. Skip the two-week log and use the class minutes tally to record the day's reading by class. Send the parent letter with the date filled in, and hand out the pledge sheet if supporters are pledging. Print a certificate for every reader for the end of the day. The K–2 color-a-book log works well for a single day too, since young readers can color as they go.