My Take
I don’t know who loves GoNoodle more: me or my students. GoNoodle is beneficial to any student and/or teacher that likes to move, dance, stretch, relax, refocus, or recharge their brain. I think that it is vital for young learners to have time to do all of these things. I have been using GoNoodle for the past four years because the benefits are real! After GoNoodle videos, my students are more focused, energized, and excited about their learning. They love sharing in these songs and silly dances with their peers. I would love for new videos to be uploaded more frequently to continue keeping the breaks fresh for us.
How I Use It
I use GoNoodle every single day in my classroom. The majority of the time, I use GoNoodle for movement breaks as a means to help my students shake out their excess energy. GoNoodle is an excellent way to help students recharge their brains and bodies through movement, while losing very minimal academic time. I really like that the length of time is provided for each video. If I only have a little bit of time, I can pick a shorter video. If I have more time, I have the option to choose a longer video.
While GoNoodle allows students to exercise, freestyle dance, and follow fun movements, it also allows students to calm themselves down. Videos including “Empower Tools” and “Think About It” provide a brief review of some Health lesson objectives, including managing frustration and being a good friend, through relaxing self-regulation. There is minimal direct-content teaching apparent through GoNoodle, however, videos like the “Blazer Fresh” ones make a great engagement or closing to a lesson.