Engage Students through Digital Text and Tools
Community Review for Subtext
My Take
Subtext is a great tool to use to deepen comprehension and light a spark with student readers. With Subtext, students digitally read, cite evidence, and show what they know. They offer a host of questions and lessons and texts. Some free, some available for purchase. I can customize the lesson and/or text. The opportunities for student achievement are great; I appreciate the power to synthesize with other articles/websites/videos. Subtext's questions are CCSS aligned. Teacher's can also see student responses immediately. There is a learning curve - worth it. I have read that it will no longer be free as of 7/15, which will be a hinderance for many teachers and students - especially those already in love with the efficacy and engagement it grants.
How I Use It
Subtext can be used in the class room to teach and extend deep reading experiences. The app allows for a pleasant and motivation interaction between the reader and the text. Through the embedded questions, citing evidence, polls, video links and quizzes a student has more opportunity to interpret what the author is trying to say through his work; the student will carry new ideas away from the reading experience because of Subtext. Subtext can be used to model close reading as a whole group experience. It can be used in a 1:1 device class room as well. In my class room, I only had enough devices for a small group, so student shifted through reading and writing stations. This allowed me to meet the needs of all my students with specific reading material at their individual levels. The digital text and learning keeps students excited about exchanging ideas, so when working in small groups, I can be assured that students are engaged.