Printable bingo cards
Reading bingo challenge card
A reading challenge is played over weeks, not minutes. The child keeps one card on the fridge or in a book bag and colors a square each time they finish a task: reading in an unusual place, trying a new kind of book, reading aloud to someone. It nudges reluctant readers toward variety without counting pages.
Reading bingo
The preview is scaled to fit your screen and prints at full size, one sheet of paper per page of cards. In the print dialog choose your printer or Save as PDF, and set scale to 100%. Nothing you type leaves this browser.
Setting up a reading challenge
- The page prints a single large card to begin with, which is right for one child at home. For a class or a library group, raise the number so that each child gets a different mix and comparing cards becomes part of the fun.
- Agree what counts as done. Many families say a square needs fifteen minutes of reading or one finished picture book, and that one sitting can complete only one square even if it fits two.
- Have the child write the book title and date in the square, small, before coloring it. By the end the card is a reading record worth keeping, and a teacher can see what was actually read.
- Set milestones along the way: a first line, then two lines, then the full card. Rewards that feed the habit work well, such as choosing the next library book, a bookmark or an extra bedtime chapter.
- Match the grid to the time available. Three by three is about a week of evenings, four by four suits a half-term break, and the full five by five lasts a summer holiday at two squares a week.
The reading challenges
Forty-eight small tasks about where, what and with whom to read. A single card picks 24 of them at random; press New set until the mix suits your reader, or delete the ones that do not apply and let the page deal again.
- Read outside
- Read in bed
- Read under a blanket
- Read to a pet
- Read to a grown-up
- Read aloud
- Read by flashlight
- Read at breakfast
- Read for 20 minutes
- Read a poem
- Read a comic
- Read a recipe
- Read a map
- Read a magazine
- Read a fact book
- Read a fairy tale
- Read a funny book
- Read a mystery
- Read about animals
- Read about space
- Read about history
- Read a new author
- Read a library book
- Read a friend's pick
- Read a picture book
- Read a chapter book
- Read a whole series
- Reread an old book
- Read in the car
- Read in a den
- Read at the park
- Read with a snack
- Read to a sibling
- Read a true story
- Read a book of jokes
- Learn a new word
- Draw a character
- Retell the story
- Visit the library
- Swap a book
- Read a play
- Read on a rainy day
- Read in a quiet spot
- Read with a friend
- Listen to a story
- Finish a book
- Start a new book
- Read about a place
Questions
How does a reading bingo challenge work?
The child gets a card of reading tasks and marks one off each time they complete it. Five in a row is a bingo. Unlike a called game there is no caller and no hurry; a card can take anything from a week to a whole summer.
Can I write my own reading challenges?
Yes. Each line of the box becomes a square, up to 20 characters long. Add genres your child avoids, a title from the school list or a visit to a particular library, then print.
Is it suitable for a whole class or a library summer programme?
It is. Set the number of cards to the number of children, up to sixty, and each gets a different arrangement drawn from the same list. Two cards per page are still roomy enough to write a title in each square.
What ages is the reading bingo card for?
The tasks as written suit about five to eleven. Non-readers can do most of them with a shared book and an adult reading. For teenagers, rewrite the list around genres, formats and books published before they were born.
More bingo cards
Sight word bingo cards
Fifty common early-reading words, or paste in this week's list from school.
First day of school bingo
Find a classmate who walks to school, has a pet or lost a tooth. Names fill the grid.
Custom bingo card maker
Your own list in, a full set of different cards out. Any topic, any language.