Subtext

Turn Any Book or Document into a Digital Classroom

In Subtext teachers and students can exchange ideas as they read, right in the pages of almost any digital book or document. You can also layer in enrichment materials, assignments and quizzes—opening up limitless opportunities to engage students, foster analysis and writing skills, and assess student progress. Subtext’s service extends the reading experience far beyond traditional books and aligns with the Common Core Standards across reading, writing and 21st century digital skills.

Read Books, Docs & Web Articles

Subtext offers access to lots of quality content including:

• Any book sold by Google Books
• Web pages you add to Subtext using our proprietary bookmarklet ‘Save to Subtext’—think NY Times articles and blog posts on NASA For Students
• Free and public domain books
• Any document in ePub format (or Word Doc or PDF converted to ePub)
• Recommended free and Common Core reading lists, organized by grade level

We also support volume purchasing through a new tool developed with Google Books. Just choose the number of books you want, enter your students’ emails, and we’ll add the right books to their shelves in Subtext.

The Only Reader Built for the Classroom

Subtext is the only ereader built for classroom use, so it’s packed with features designed specifically for you and your students. (And, don’t worry, we didn’t overlook the basics like smooth page turning, adjustable fonts and the indispensable built-in dictionary.)

• In-Book Discussions: Subtext enables discussions in the pages of any book. We call them conversations in context, and they open up the reading experience in incredible ways.
• Classroom Groups: It’s easy to set up a closed group for your class in Subtext, and it keeps your students focused as they read—they will only see notes from you and their fellow classmates.
• Web Linking: You can link out to relevant news articles, photos and videos to make connections for your students and extend learning beyond the pages of the book.
• Save to Subtext: You can save web pages, including new articles and blog posts, to your personal and group shelves in Subtext. ‘Save to Subtext’ is available in the app under ‘Add Books & Docs’ and on the web through our free bookmarklet.
• Book Blog: Students are prompted to add a rating and comment at the end of each chapter or section—creating a digital reading journal that tracks their reactions to the book.
• Edmodo Login & Note Sharing: When you log into Subtext with Edmodo, your Edmodo groups are imported into Subtext as closed groups; then you can share notes in Subtext out to your students on the Edmodo stream. (Teachers: You need to install our free app on Edmodo to unlock this functionality.)
• Get Class on Same Page Instantly: Waste less class time with ‘Invite a group to this page’ notifications.
• Offline mode: You and your students can view and add annotations while you read without web connectivity. Your new notes will be uploaded the next time you’re online.
• Multiple Logins: Subtext supports multiple logins, so students can share an iPad (and books and documents) without ever seeing each others’ notes.
• Restricted Student Setting: You can change the status of all the students in a group from unrestricted (our default setting) to restricted. Restricted students cannot surf the web, create groups, share notes or friend other users in Subtext.
• Common Core Book Lists: Browse our book lists for free and Common Core-aligned books, by grade level.

Supports the Common Core

When you and your students annotate a book or document in Subtext, notes are linked to a specific passage so there’s a built-in emphasis on the source text and close reading. Subtext also encourages a regular cycle of reading, analysis and writing.