Character Trading Card Challenge

Application Dates:

December 8, 2025 – January 12, 2026

Description:

In this Creative Challenge, you’ll choose characters from a either Samira Ahmed’s Internment or a text of your choice and design baseball-style trading cards that highlight their most defining traits, key actions, and unforgettable moments. Imagine your characters as a literary MVP—someone whose story deserves a spotlight—and bring them to life with visuals, stats, and storytelling flair. To complete your entry, include a brief written explanation that shares the thought behind your design and how it captures the essence of your chosen characters.

Awards:

Three winning ELA Honor Society students will receive official certificates and exclusive ELA Competition Winner pins to display for all to see!

Eligibility:

Applicants must be registered student members of the ELA Honor Society and enrolled at a school with an active ELA Honor Society chapter.

Submission Requirements:

Each student must upload a maximum of 5 high-quality/high-resolution color trading cards as a single PDF file, taking into consideration the evaluation criteria outlined below. Use this format as a guide:

Each trading card must include:

• Character name
• Character image
• Team name (reflects the book’s setting, theme, or a clever literary pun)
• Position (protagonist, villain, comic relief, etc.)
• Strengths (key skills or traits)
• Key stats (major events or accomplishments from the text)
• Key quote (a phrase that captures the character’s voice or essence)

Each student must also submit a single written explanation/justification for the trading cards they have included in their submission. This text must be no more than 200 words and must be uploaded in Microsoft Word format. When writing, we highly recommend students consider the evaluation criteria below.

Submission Process:

1. Each student must submit their own work (approved by an ELA Honor Society Chapter Advisor) through the ELA AwardSpring platform. Learn more about submitting work in our Technology Guide.
2. Each student must fill out a short survey, which will define their eligibility to participate.
3. Each applying student must respond to all the application questions and upload all materials in the format specified.

Submission Link

Evaluation Criteria:

Each submission will be evaluated by members of the ELA Honor Society Advisory Council using the following criteria:

TRADING CARDS:

1. Trading cards meet the requirements outlined above
2. Trading cards demonstrate imaginative thinking and unique ideas
3. Characters are accurately and meaningfully depicted
4. Trading cards are visually appealing, well-organized, and crafted with attention to detail
5. Overall submission reflects time, care, and pride

TEXT EXPLANATION/JUSTIFICATION:

1. Text explains/justifies the inclusion of each trading card in relation the plot, characters, and/or themes of the chosen text
2. Text must be analytical and not descriptive
3. Text must be neatly presented

Resources:

Learn more about how to make trading cards.