Reading Challenge Bingo Card Generator

This generator makes printable reading bingo cards for a read-a-thon, a classroom challenge or a family reading goal. Choose a grade band and a card size, decide how many different cards you want, and print. Every square is an original challenge written to be easy to do at home, and listening to a book and being read to count as reading on every square.

How the cards are built

1. Pick the readers. The Readers menu has four bands: K–2, Grades 3–5, Grades 6–8 and Family / all ages. Each band draws from the 36 shared squares plus 10 squares written for that band, a pool of 46.
2. Add your own squares (optional). Type one per line in Your own squares. Each is trimmed to 60 characters and added to the pool. Duplicates are dropped, ignoring capitals. Your squares are mixed into the shuffle, so a given square may not land on every card.
3. Choose a size. 3 × 3 suits the youngest readers, then 4 × 4 or 5 × 5. On 3 × 3 and 5 × 5 cards the center square is FREE: read anything. A 4 × 4 card has no single center, so it has no free square. A card needs 8, 16 or 24 squares to fill.
4. Choose how many cards. Different cards can be 1 to 40. Each card is a separate shuffle of the same pool, so neighbors in class get different cards.
5. Note the card set code. The code, together with the band, size and each card's number, decides the shuffle. Enter the same code with the same settings and squares to reprint the identical set next year. New card set picks a fresh random code.

The screen previews card 1 and a line saying how many squares the cards draw from. Print cards prints every card, each with your card title, the card number, the band, a line for a name or initials and a footer reminding readers that listening and being read to count. Print as a checklist prints 20 challenges from the band's built-in squares as a tick-box list, shuffled by the same code. Your own squares don't appear on the checklist.

Listening and being read to count on every square

Listening to a book and being read to count as reading on every square, and the printed footer says so. The squares were written to be easy to do at home: "Read to a pet or stuffed animal," "Read in a cozy spot you build," "Tell someone three things about your book." A few still take a little planning, such as "Read a book from the library," which can be a school library visit or an online library. Look over the pool below before you print. When you add your own squares, ask whether a reader who can't read print yet, or whose family has few books at home, could still do it. Our page on making a read-a-thon fair for every reader explains why this matters.

Choosing your settings

Setting	What it does	How to choose
Card title	Printed at the top of every card (up to 50 characters)	Use your event or theme name
Readers	Picks the band's squares	Match the readers; use Family for mixed ages at home
Card size	3 × 3, 4 × 4 or 5 × 5	3 × 3 for K–1 or a one-week event; 5 × 5 for two weeks or more
Different cards	1 to 40 shuffled cards	One per student in a class, or 4 for a family
Card set code	Reproduces a set exactly	Write it on your master copy
Your own squares	Added to the pool before shuffling	School traditions, local places, your theme

Need cards right now? Our four ready-made 5 × 5 bingo cards for grades 3–5 are a free PDF.

Using bingo in a read-a-thon

Bingo works best as a companion to minutes, not a replacement. Minutes measure how much a reader read. Bingo nudges them to try something new: a poem, a nonfiction book, reading to a pet or a stuffed animal. A few ways to use it:

• Alongside the minutes log. Readers keep logging minutes for the event, and a bingo card adds variety. Time spent on a square counts as minutes too.
• As bonus recognition, not money. A bingo earns a sticker, a bookmark or a name drawn for a book. Don't tie bingos to pledges or dollars, and don't post who has or hasn't made one.
• As a class card. Project one card in the classroom and fill squares together as a class. This includes every student, whatever happens at home.
• As a theme. Add squares that match your event theme, such as "Read about a place you'd like to explore" for a travel theme.
• As a family challenge. Send the Family band card home so grown-ups and siblings read too.

More activities are on our read-a-thon kickoff and activity ideas page, and theme ideas with tracker suggestions are in our read-a-thon themes and slogans guide. Teachers running a no-money reading challenge will find more in our classroom read-a-thon guide.

Printing tips

• Cards are black-and-white friendly and print on US Letter. Use your browser's print dialog to choose paper size or save as a PDF.
• For a class set, set Different cards to your class size and print once. Each card number is printed on the card.
• Send a card home in the same folder as the reading log, so families have everything in one place.
• Laminate a 3 × 3 card for the youngest readers and use dry-erase markers.

The full square pool

Here is every built-in square, so you can review them before printing. A card for a band uses the shared squares plus that band's list.

Every band: the shared squares (36)

• Read outside
• Read to a pet or stuffed animal
• Read with a flashlight
• Read a book a friend recommends
• Listen to an audiobook
• Read in your home language
• Read aloud to anyone who will listen
• Have someone read to you
• Reread a favorite
• Read a book from the library
• Read before breakfast
• Read in a cozy spot you build
• Read a book with a map in it
• Read about an animal
• Read a poem out loud
• Read a book set in another country
• Read a book by an author new to you
• Read a funny book
• Read about a real person
• Read for 20 minutes without stopping
• Read a book from the 'new' shelf
• Read somewhere you have never read before
• Read a book with a one-word title
• Read the first book in a series
• Read a book that became a movie
• Read with a grown-up at home
• Draw a scene from your book
• Tell someone about your book
• Read a book about a holiday
• Read a recipe or a menu
• Read a book with a blue cover
• Read a book with a dragon or a robot
• Read in a different room
• Read a nonfiction book
• Read a book about friendship
• Read a book in pajamas

K–2 squares (10)

• Read a picture book
• Read a rhyming book
• Follow along with your finger as someone reads
• Read an alphabet or counting book
• Find a word that starts with your first letter
• Act out part of a story
• Read a book with no words and tell the story
• Read about a bug
• Read a bedtime story
• Read a book with flaps or textures

Grades 3–5 squares (10)

• Read a graphic novel
• Read a chapter book
• Read a mystery
• Read a book with a map or a timeline
• Read a fact book and share three facts
• Read a book from a series you have not tried
• Read a book of jokes or riddles
• Read a news story written for kids
• Read a book about science
• Tell someone three things about your book

Grades 6–8 squares (10)

• Read a book in verse
• Read a book with more than one narrator
• Read a book published this year
• Read a memoir or biography
• Read a book recommended by a teacher
• Read a book outside your usual genre
• Read a long-form article
• Read a book about a social issue
• Start a book club of two
• Read a classic or its graphic adaptation

Family / all ages squares (10)

• Read together as a family
• Each family member picks a book
• Read aloud at dinner
• Visit a library together, in person or online
• Listen to an audiobook together
• Read a book in a language someone at home speaks
• Swap books with a friend or relative
• Grown-ups read their own book while kids read
• Read a cookbook together
• Read a book about where your family is from

Method note: The squares are original challenges written for this tool. Cards are shuffled with a seeded random generator, so the same code, band, size and squares always produce the same cards. The tool makes no claim that bingo improves reading. It is a way to add variety to a reading event.

Privacy

Cards are built in your browser. Your title, settings and custom squares are not saved or sent anywhere. Print or note your card set code if you want to reproduce the cards later.

Next steps

• Print reading logs, pledge sheets and certificates from our free read-a-thon printables library.
• Plan recognition that rewards reading itself with our guide to inclusive recognition for every reader.
• See where bingo fits in a full event with the read-a-thon planning guide.