How to Create a Contest

Why Use Contests? 

Contests are one of the most effective ways to boost reading engagement in the classroom. A well-timed contest can:

• Create motivation with a deadline — a visible end date and countdown timer on the student dashboard keeps the goal top of mind.
• Reward different types of effort — you choose whether students earn credit by passing quizzes, logging reading time, completing final reviews, accumulating activity points, or reading nonfiction books.
• Encourage teamwork or healthy individual competition — run a class-wide challenge where everyone contributes, or let each student compete on their own.
• Work for any classroom goal — a short sprint before a break or a month-long reading marathon both work equally well.

Step 1: Open the Contest Form

Click Contests in the sidebar, then click Add new Contest.

If this is your first contest, you will see a set of Quick Start presets — popular contest templates you can click to pre-fill the form. You can still adjust any field after selecting a preset.

Step 2: Set the Goal

The first step of the form configures what students need to accomplish.

Goal based on — choose the metric students will be tracked on:

• Book Quizzes
• Activity Points
• Final Review
• Reading Log (in minutes)
• Page Count
• Word Count
• Nonfiction Books

Who's competing — choose the contest type:

• Individual Effort — each student competes on their own.
• Classroom Effort — all student totals are combined into a single class score.

Goal — enter the target number students must reach to win (for example: 10 quizzes, 500 reading minutes, or 5,000 words).

Contest Books (optional) — by default any book counts toward the contest. To restrict it, select Select Book Lists and choose one or more of your custom book lists. Only books from those lists will count.

Page Count and Word Count are based on the book’s total pages and words — not on reading log minutes.

Step 3: Add Contest Details

The second step sets the contest identity and dates.

• Name — the contest title students will see.
• Contest starts at / Contest ends at — only activity within these dates counts toward the goal.
• Student Groups (optional) — limit the contest to specific groups. Leave blank to include all students.
• Short description — a brief internal summary.
• Contest Instructions — the full message shown to students on the contest details page. Use this to explain the rules and encourage participation.
• Banner — click to choose a cover image from the library, or upload your own (1200×250 px, JPEG, PNG, or SVG).

Step 4: Choose a Prize

The third step sets what students win. Choose one of two prize types:

• Enter Your Prize (recommended) — write a custom reward that will be displayed to students. Classic options include a pizza party, homework pass, treasure chest pick, or a movie-and-popcorn day.
• Award Game Coins — give winning students extra game coins. Use the slider to set the amount (1–20 coins).

Need inspiration? Click Contest Prize Ideas! at the top of the page for a curated list of reward suggestions.

Step 5: Save the Contest

Click the Save button at the top or bottom of the form. The contest is immediately visible to students once it is saved and the start date is reached.

What Students See 

Active contests appear on the student dashboard with a live countdown showing days, hours, minutes, and seconds remaining. Students can click the contest to view the instructions, the goal, the prize, and any linked book lists.