SLAWNY
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I recently did a presentation on March 29th for the State Librarians’ Association of Western New York (SLAWNY) at their Spring Sharing Conference. My session was titled, “Why Should You Sing in the Library?” responding to the conference’s theme, You never know what you’ll find at your library.To find out more about the conference go to: http://slawny.bfn.org/ Here’s a peek at what was shared.
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We all know how much children love nonfiction texts, but have you ever considered the power that song could bring into the school library? Participants will learn more about the power song can have in making curriculum connections through singing, dramatizing and writing about the content and concepts classroom teachers are asking them to support. Librarians will also discover how my songbooks not only engage young minds, but capture theirs as well!
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 Members' Section
I am so excited about my new Members’ Section! It will be offered for a period of one year to all schools that book an Author’s Visit. (Opportunities to extend membership will be offered for a minimal fee.) Members will have the opportunity to go to an exclusive area of my website where they will find worksheets and more detailed explanations of extension activities for my books. The first activity will be shared at some of my upcoming conferences. It uses the structure of Bear Facts and invites participants/students to apply previously learned content and synthesize their lyrics into a new song. When you are looking for a unique way to Differentiate Instruction through the products that students create, this is it!
 RECENT EVENTS
• April 2, 2008- Medaille College’s Literacy Event, Amherst Campus (focus: using Songs of Science to integrate and differentiate instruction)
• April 26, 2008- Ledgeview Elementary, Clarence, NY Author Visit (focus: Earth Day and What Hatches From an Egg?)
• May 16, 2008- Oswego and Madison-Oneida BOCES Arts in Education Showcase, Roxboro Road Middle School, Syracuse (focus: exhibit of all song books, Author Visit examples, and meet the author)
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by Norma L. Gentner on March 30th, 2008
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My Visit to the Amherst Cooperative Nursery School
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I had the pleasure of visiting the Amherst Cooperative Nursery School recently. The four-year-old group was in the midst of their dinosaur unit, and thought I would share my one-hour author visit.
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It began with introducing them to my songbook, Dig A Dinosaur. As we sang the first page together, I shared a little bit about my dinosaur dig in Bozeman, Montana. The dig site was located in the Badlands, so I had to stay in one of the Blackfoot tepees to the left of my hat in the photo. Daytime temperatures averaged about 100˚, so I had to wear a hat to help protect me from dehydration.
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A common activity I use with Pre-K through
first grade is dramatizing the song. I have found that interactive text helps support emergent readers and ESL students. The children learned that digging for dinosaur bones takes a lot of time and patience. Sometimes the paleontologist will use a rock hammer and chisel, but most of the time a dental pick, brush and epoxy are most helpful. (The little actress in the photo is using a toy hammer and chisel to tap out the beat of the song.)
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For the pages that deal with the nest of eggs, I have found that a puppet works well. The actress used the action word, hatch as her cue. Have you ever thought of using a songbook like this when you’re students are learning about “eggs and spring time babies? Most paleontologists believe that dinosaurs were oviparous beings. So, now you know that chickens aren’t the only ones.
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The next part of the song deals with most children’s favorite dinosaur, T-Rex. The student with the plastic megaphone roared when it got to his key word in the text.
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A “magic” game of reaching into a bag and differentiating between a fossilized horse tooth (plant eater) and a tooth cast from T-Rex (meat eater) helped reinforce vocabulary such as: triangle, sharp and pointed.
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The next performer in the Dig A Dinosaur show included the actor with the full sized T-Rex puppet. He bit a smaller stuffed dinosaur three times to the beat of meat-meat-meat. The final two performers acted out the eating of plants, and the meteor hitting the earth by clashing small cymbals. It was definitely a Dino-mite visit!
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by Norma L. Gentner on February 3rd, 2008
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Welcome to the official web site for author and songwriter, Norma L. Gentner.
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If you select from the menu bar above you will discover more about me and my Songs of Science.
News This page will be updated frequently with images from recent school visits and conference presentations. My next author visit will be Monday, January 28th at the Amherst Cooperative Nursery School in Amherst, New York. The kids at this school really dig dinosaurs! They will be exploring the topic through my song and a variety of hands-on experiences. I will be adding images of the children in action with tips on how you can integrate curriculum using Dig A Dinosaur in your classroom. So be sure to check back!
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by Norma L. Gentner on January 27th, 2008
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If you select from the menu bar above you will discover more about me and my Songs of Science.
About Norma Of course your administrator or district PR person will want to get the scoop on who I am. So please direct them to my Biography on this page. I have also included eco-trips I have taken; various venues where I have presented and awards I have received. The link at the bottom-left side of the page will connect you to a web site created by three fifth grade students I guided through the research and development of The Appy Bot. Their invention took second place in the national science competition, ExploraVision. If you are passionate about science like I am, perhaps this academic challenge is something you would like to explore with your students.
Books This page has all of the information you’ll need when ordering different titles. There is a paragraph describing the content objectives and application for the classroom. If you click on “Buy Now,” or one of the formats in the sidebar at the right, it will take you directly to The Wright Group’s on-line catalog page specific to that choice. Of course, each title comes in pupil book, audio cassette, Big Book or Sets format. So, don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of the page!
Author Visits You can either view a variety of formats for one of my visits, or print out a PDF file on those pages under Downloads at the right. If students at your school would like to add to the column on “What Kids Have Said” after my visit, please forward them to me using the Contact page.
Links to Standards Of course, everyone will ask you, “Why are you singing about science in your classroom?” Now you’ll have the Standards and Benchmarks that support your choices. Music definitely has a “Pied Piper” effect, and these original 12 Songs of Science will help you accomplish your goals while engaging children at the same time!
Contact So now that you and your students know that there is a “real” Norma L. Gentner, feel free to contact me with questions or comments.
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