One-on-One Guidance Script

Introduction & Goal Setting (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Hi there! Today we’re going to explore three tools—text-to-speech, highlighting & annotation, and dictation—that can help make reading easier and more fun."

Teacher: "First, can you tell me about a time when reading felt hard or tiring for you?"

Teacher (if needed): "You might say something like, ‘I struggled to read a long paragraph because my eyes got tired.’"

Teacher: "Great! For our goal today, you’ll open a short passage and use the text-to-speech tool to read it out loud. Then we’ll practice highlighting, annotation, and dictation. Does that sound good?"

Teacher: "Awesome. Let’s get started!"

Demonstrate Text-to-Speech Tool (10 minutes)

Teacher: "Here’s our sample passage on the screen. Can you click on it to open the file?"

Teacher: "Perfect. Now look for this play button—▶️. That’s how we start the text-to-speech feature. Watch me click it."

Teacher: "You’ll hear the computer read the text. To make it faster or slower, use this speed slider here. I’ll move it to the right to speed it up. Now you try adjusting it back to normal."

Teacher: "Excellent! Can you point to the volume control and lower it slightly?"

Teacher: "Nice work—so far, you’ve opened the passage, played the audio, and adjusted the speed and volume."

Guided Practice with TTS (10 minutes)

Teacher: "Now it’s your turn to select a new short passage. Take your time."

Teacher: "When you’re ready, follow these steps from our Text-to-Speech Practice Activity. As you do each step, tell me what you’re about to do out loud."

Teacher (if the student hesitates): "Remember: 1) Open the file, 2) Click the ▶️ button, 3) Adjust speed, 4) Adjust volume. You’ve got this!"

Explore Highlighting & Annotation (10 minutes)

Teacher: "Great job! Next, let’s highlight key words. See this highlighter icon in the toolbar? It looks like a marker."

Teacher: "Go ahead and highlight the first sentence of this new text."

Teacher: "Perfect. Now let’s add a note. Here’s the note icon (🗒️). Click it and type why that sentence seems important to you."

Teacher: "Nice annotation! If you need more shortcuts, remember to check your Shortcut Cheat Sheet Worksheet."

Introduce Dictation Tool (10 minutes)

Teacher: "Let’s try dictation next. Look for the microphone icon—🎤. Click it to start recording your voice."

Teacher: "I’ll say a sentence first: ‘Assistive tools help me read with less effort.’ Now watch how I click the mic, speak clearly, and then click it again to stop."

Teacher: "Now it’s your turn. Use this prompt: ‘The main idea of this paragraph is…’ Speak slowly, then stop the recording."

Teacher (if needed): "Try starting with, ‘What I learned is…’ or ‘This text explains that…’"

Reflection & Tech Log (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Awesome work today! Which tool—text-to-speech, highlighting, or dictation—felt most helpful to you?"

Teacher: "Why do you think that one helped the most?"

Teacher: "Let’s record your thoughts in the Daily Tech Log Journal. Write today’s date, the tool you used, and rate your confidence from 1 to 5."

Teacher: "Finally, what’s one mini-challenge you can set for yourself before our next session? Maybe reading an extra page with text-to-speech on your own."

Teacher: "I can’t wait to hear how it goes. See you next time!"

Text-to-Speech Practice

Objective: Independently apply the text-to-speech tool to a reading passage and reflect on how it supports your comprehension.

Materials:

• Laptop or tablet with assistive software installed
• A short reading passage of your choice
• Shortcut Cheat Sheet Worksheet (for quick access to controls)

Steps

1. Select a short passage on your device and open it in the assistive software.
2. Click the ▶️ play button to start the text-to-speech feature.
3. Adjust the speed slider until the voice reads at a comfortable pace.
4. Adjust the volume as needed.
5. As the software reads, follow along by watching the text highlight.
6. Pause the audio at natural breaks (sentences or paragraphs) and summarize aloud what you’ve heard.
7. If you get stuck, refer to your Shortcut Cheat Sheet Worksheet.

Reflection Questions

1. Which speed and volume settings did you choose? Why?

1. How did using text-to-speech affect your understanding of the passage?

1. What part of the text was most interesting or challenging for you?

1. What is one goal you have for your next independent reading practice using TTS?

Shortcut Cheat Sheet

Use these keyboard shortcuts to quickly access and control your assistive technology tools.

Text-to-Speech Controls

• Ctrl + Alt + Space: Play / Pause audio
  
• Ctrl + Alt + S: Stop audio
  
• Ctrl + Alt + Up Arrow: Increase playback speed
  
• Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow: Decrease playback speed
  
• Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow: Increase volume
  
• Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow: Decrease volume
  

Highlighting & Annotation

• Ctrl + Shift + H: Toggle highlighter tool
  
• Ctrl + Shift + N: Add a note annotation
  
• Ctrl + Z: Undo last action
  
• Ctrl + Y: Redo last action
  

Dictation Controls

• Ctrl + Shift + D: Start / Stop dictation recording
  
• Ctrl + Shift + E: Edit last dictated entry
  
• Ctrl + Shift + C: Clear current dictation text
  

Daily Tech Log Journal

Date:

Tool Used (select one):

• Text-to-Speech
• Highlighting & Annotation
• Dictation

Confidence Rating (1 = low, 5 = high):
  Rating: ____

Why did you give that rating?

How did using this tool help your reading today?

What challenges did you face when using the tool, and how did you overcome them?

Mini-challenge for next session:
Think of one small step you can take to use this tool more effectively on your own.

Reflections like these will help track your progress and set goals for each session!