Book Bingo Template for a Class Reading Challenge

Reading challenges on bingo cards, a different mix for each pupil, to tick off over a month.

Tap a square to mark it. For a PDF, press Print and choose Save as PDF.

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Ready-made list, 30 prompts. Paste your own to replace it, or type to add to it.

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Next step Add up each reader's minutes on a chartTime 20 minutes of silent reading

All 60 prompts

Kindergarten to grade 2 30

  • A bedtime story The last thing read at night, in bed or on the sofa. A grown-up can sign the square the next morning.
  • A book a friend picked Ask a classmate for a favorite and read it. Tell them afterwards what you thought of it.
  • A book of facts A book that gives information and tells no story: animals, trucks, weather, the body. In the Common Core, first graders learn to tell the two kinds of book apart (RL.1.5).
  • A book with a blue cover Choose a book by its cover for once. Change blue to your school color in the list if you like.
  • A book with no words The pictures carry the whole story, so the reader tells it aloud. Saying which moment of a story a picture shows is a kindergarten task in the Common Core (RL.K.7).
  • A book with photos Photographs, not drawings. Most are fact books, and the words under a photo are a caption, one of the text features the Common Core asks second graders to use (RI.2.5).
  • A counting book A book that counts up or down, page by page. Count the things in each picture out loud before you turn over.
Show all 60 prompts (53 more)

Kindergarten to grade 2, continued

  • A fable A short story that ends with a lesson, often with animals that talk. Ask what the lesson was: second graders are asked to find the lesson or moral (Common Core RL.2.2).
  • A fairy tale A made-up story with magic in it: a talking animal, a giant, a wish that comes true. Reading two tellings of the same tale and comparing them is a second-grade task in the Common Core (RL.2.9).
  • A funny book Any book that made you laugh. To claim the square, show someone the page that did it.
  • A library book Borrowed from the school or the public library, not taken from home. The stamp or the slip shows when it is due back.
  • A nursery rhyme A short, old rhyme that many children know by heart. Nursery rhymes come first in the Common Core's list of poetry for K to 5. Say it, then clap the beat.
  • A one-word title The whole title is a single word. Look along the spines on a shelf: short titles stand out.
  • A pop-up book A book with pop-ups, flaps or tabs to move. Turn the pages gently: a library copy tears easily.
  • A rhyming book Any book where the ends of the lines sound alike. In the Common Core, second graders listen for rhymes and repeated lines in a story, poem or song (RL.2.4).
  • An alphabet book One page or one picture for each letter from A to Z. Say each letter's sound as you turn the page.
  • An animal book A story with an animal in it, or a fact book about one. Both count.
  • Do a voice for a character Read the talking parts in a different voice for each character. The Common Core asks second graders to do this when they read dialogue aloud (RL.2.6).
  • Draw your favorite part Draw one scene and write the book's title under it. The drawing is the proof for this square.
  • Find the author's name It is on the front cover and again on the title page. Find the illustrator too: in the Common Core, kindergartners learn what each of them does (RL.K.6).
  • Find the title page The page inside that repeats the title before the story starts. The Common Core asks kindergartners to find the front cover, the back cover and the title page (RI.K.5).
  • Learn a new word Pick one word you did not know, ask what it means, and use it in a sentence of your own.
  • Listen to a read-aloud Hearing a book counts: a teacher, a grown-up, a librarian or an audiobook. The Common Core expects kindergartners to join group reading with purpose and understanding (RL.K.10).
  • Read by flashlight Lights off, one flashlight, one book. It works best as a square to do at home.
  • Read outside On a bench, a step or the grass. A whole class can claim this square together on a dry day.
  • Read the same book twice The second time through is smoother than the first, and that is the point. Time both readings if the pupil likes numbers.
  • Read to a friend Take turns with one book, a page each. The last 10 minutes of the school day suit buddy reading.
  • Read to a stuffed animal A toy or a pet never corrects a slip, so this is easy read-aloud practice. Any book counts.
  • Read with a grown-up Share one book: the grown-up reads a page, then you read a page. The grown-up signs the square.
  • Retell the story Tell someone what happened first, next and last, with the book closed. Retelling a story with its key details is a first-grade skill in the Common Core (RL.1.2).

Grades 3 to 6 30

  • A biography The true story of a real person's life, written by someone else. If the person wrote it, it is an autobiography, and that counts too.
  • A book in a series Any book from a numbered series. The Common Core asks third graders to compare the plots of books about the same characters (RL.3.9), so read two if you can.
  • A book made into a movie Read the book first. The Common Core asks fourth graders to connect the text of a story to a visual presentation of it (RL.4.7), so note one thing the film changed.
  • A book of poems Read at least 5 poems from one collection, one of them aloud. Verse, rhythm and meter are the words the Common Core gives fourth graders for how a poem is built (RL.4.5).
  • A book older than you Check the copyright date on the back of the title page. It has to be earlier than the year you were born.
  • A book with a glossary A glossary is the short dictionary at the back of a fact book. Look one word up in it while you read. In the Common Core, third graders use glossaries to pin down what a key word means (L.3.4d).
  • A book with a map Look inside the front cover: fantasy and adventure books often print a map there. An atlas or a history book counts too. In the Common Core, third graders use maps and photographs to follow a text (RI.3.7).
  • A diary or a memoir Someone's own account of what happened to them. That is a firsthand account, which the Common Core asks fourth graders to set beside a secondhand one (RI.4.6).
  • A fantasy story A story with things that cannot happen in real life: magic, dragons, invented worlds. Fantasy is one of the story types the Common Core lists for K to 5.
  • A first-person story The narrator says I and me. Telling first-person from third-person narration is a fourth-grade skill in the Common Core (RL.4.6).
  • A graphic novel A full-length story told in comic panels. Words and pictures share the work, and the Common Core asks fifth graders what the pictures add to the meaning (RL.5.7).
  • A how-to book Directions to follow: a recipe, a craft, a science experiment, a drawing guide. The Common Core counts directions as a technical text. Make the thing, with a grown-up for anything hot or sharp, to prove you read it.
  • A joke or riddle book Read it from cover to cover, then try your best 3 on the class. A pun is a quick lesson in words with two meanings.
  • A magazine article One full article from a magazine or a news site for children, from start to finish. Say who wrote it and what it was about.
  • A mystery A puzzle or a crime to solve, with clues along the way. Write down your guess at the halfway point and check it at the end. The Common Core asks fifth graders to compare stories within one genre, and it names mysteries (RL.5.9).
  • A myth or legend A very old story, once told to explain the world (a myth) or about a hero who may have lived (a legend). In the Common Core, fourth graders meet words that come from myths, such as Herculean (RL.4.4).
  • A play A script with a cast of characters, dialogue and stage directions, the parts of a drama that the Common Core asks fourth graders to name (RL.4.5). Read it with a friend and split the roles.
  • A science book A fact book about animals, space, weather, machines or the body. Find a diagram in it: explaining what a chart or diagram adds to the words is a fourth-grade task in the Common Core (RI.4.7).
  • An adventure story A journey, a danger and a narrow escape. Adventure stories come first in the Common Core's list of story types for K to 5.
  • An author new to you Someone whose books you have never read. Ask a classmate or the librarian for a name.
  • An award winner Look for a medal or a seal printed on the cover. The school librarian can point to the shelf.
  • Give a 1-minute book talk Stand up and sell a book to the class in one minute: the title, the author, what it is about, and not the ending. A timer keeps it fair.
  • Historical fiction A made-up story set in a real past time, with details that fit the period. The Common Core asks sixth graders to compare historical novels with fantasy stories (RL.6.9).
  • Look up three new words Write down 3 words you did not know, with a dictionary meaning for each. The Common Core expects fourth graders to check a dictionary or a glossary for the exact meaning of a key word (L.4.4c).
  • Read 30 minutes in a row Thirty minutes with no break and no screen nearby. A grown-up or a timer signs it off.
  • Read to someone younger A brother, a sister, a cousin or a reading buddy from a lower grade. Let them choose the book.
  • Set in another country A story that takes place outside the country you live in. Find the country on a map before you start.
  • Two books on one topic Two fact books about the same thing, such as volcanoes. Write down one fact that only the second book had. Comparing two texts on a topic is a third-grade task in the Common Core (RI.3.9).
  • Write a short review Three sentences: what the book is about, the best part, and who should read it next. Pin it up in the class library.
  • Your longest book yet More pages than anything you have finished before. Write the page count in the square.

How this list was compiled: All 60 prompts and their notes were written for this site; no list or wording is copied from another site, and no book title, author, publisher, award or reading program is named. The first 30 are written for kindergarten to grade 2 and the last 30 for grades 3 to 6. The grade split and every standard code in the notes were checked in September 2026 against the text of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Text, Language, and the table Range of Text Types for K to 5), in the PDF published by the Council of Chief State School Officers: https://learning.ccsso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ELA_Standards1.pdf. A code such as RL.2.6 means Reading: Literature, grade 2, standard 6; RI is Reading: Informational Text and L is Language. The Common Core is one set of United States standards, and not every state uses it, so every note that gives a grade names it. The standards name no books for these prompts, and the codes are given so a teacher can see which grade the Common Core places a task in, not as a claim that a card covers a standard. What a fable and a fairy tale are: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fable and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_tale. Myth and legend: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend. Licence: own work

How it works

This book bingo template opens with 6 cards drawn from the 30 prompts for grades 3 to 6. The 30 for kindergarten to grade 2 are one pick away. No prompt names a title, so any library works.

Read the full guide

Pick your grade band

Ready-made list, under the Print button, opens on Grades 3 to 6. Pick Kindergarten to grade 2, or All 60 prompts, and the cards follow. Each 5 × 5 card draws 24 of the list, so pupils get different challenges. For one reading bingo board that the whole class shares, cut the list to exactly 24 lines: every card then holds the same squares in a different order.

Cards only, no caller

Nobody calls this game, so the page has no caller. The center square reads Free choice, and any book counts there. To change those words, tap the free square and type. Grade notes in the list below follow the Common Core, which not every state uses.

  • A free center leaves 4 of the 12 lines needing only 4 squares. Switch it off in More options for a harder month.
  • For kindergarten or a two-week challenge, choose the 3 × 3 grid: 9 squares, or 8 around a free center.
  • Tap the title on a card and type the month, such as October Reading Bingo, before you print.

Questions and answers

Is this reading bingo printable free?

Yes, with no sign-up. This page prints 1 card to a page, which leaves room for initials in every square. A set holds up to 60 cards, and 2 or 4 to a page on Letter or A4 saves paper.

Can I edit the printable book bingo template?

Yes. Each prompt is one line of the word list: reword it, delete it or add your own, up to 60 characters. The cards follow as you type, so A book older than you can become A book from our class library.

How do you play reading bingo?

Each pupil gets a card and colors a square when that challenge is done; a grown-up can initial it. Five across, down or on a diagonal is a bingo. You set the deadline and the reward, or play on for a full card.

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