ReadWorks and Simply Draw Launch Halloween Illustration Contest
News related to:ReadWorks · 2 min read
NEW YORK, NY, October 29, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- ReadWorks, a nonprofit organization providing free, research-based resources to improve reading comprehension, and Simply, the company behind the Simply Draw learning app, have teamed up for a Halloween Illustration Contest. The contest invites students in grades 1-6 across the United States to read Halloween-themed passages and bring their ideas to life through drawing.
The collaboration connects reading with a creative way for students to show what they understand. As students choose details from a text and represent them visually, they can make connections, organize ideas, and interpret the passage in their own way. Simply Draw's guided lessons offer techniques and encouragement, while leaving room for each student's imagination.
ReadWorks, which has provided free, research-based reading comprehension resources to nearly 1 million educators and 11.5 million students each school year, has a mission to ensure educators and students have access to high-quality reading resources. Its library features more than 6,000 high-quality texts across subjects and grade levels, designed to complement any curriculum and build background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension.
The Halloween Illustration Contest will run from October 1 to November 6, 2026. Students in grades 1-6 will read two grade-level, Halloween-themed ReadWorks passages and choose one to illustrate. Topics include bats, spiders, the history of Halloween, aliens, and black cats. Simply Draw is providing free, step-by-step drawing tutorials connected to the readings, including lessons on drawing bats, skeletons, jack-o'-lanterns, spiders, aliens, and black cats. The tutorials are designed to give students drawing techniques they can use as a starting point, rather than a picture they need to copy.
Students are encouraged to make their illustrations their own, using ideas and details from the text alongside their own creative choices. Entries will be evaluated on how well the illustration demonstrates understanding of the passage, as well as creativity, originality, and drawing skills.
Six winners, one from each grade level, will be selected by a panel of judges from ReadWorks and Simply Draw. Winners (and their teacher or parent) will get one free year of access to the full suite of Simply applications, including Simply Draw and Simply Piano, alongside two $25 gift certificates and a special merchandise package. Entries must be submitted by a teacher, parent, or guardian by November 6, 2026. The winners will be announced by November 23rd on the ReadWorks website.
Research suggests that drawing can be a valuable learning strategy when children use it to represent what they have learned. Creating a visual representation requires students to identify important information, organize and connect ideas, and translate their understanding into another form. These processes can support comprehension and retention.
Since its founding, 56 million people have used ReadWorks, including nearly 1 million educators and 11.5 million students each school year. ReadWorks reaches 93% of the highest-poverty K-8 schools nationwide. Its library features more than 6,000 high-quality texts across subjects and grade levels, designed to complement any curriculum and build background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension. Beyond its content, ReadWorks offers research-based print and digital tools and educator guidance designed to support individualized reading comprehension instruction, all provided free as part of its nonprofit mission.