GoNoodle.com - a fun Place to be in...
I've been thinking quite a lot about what to share in this blogpost but ended up with telling you about the website GoNoodle. GoNoodle.com is an American website dedicated to get kids moving regularly and in a fun way. Short videos with exciting and interesting songs, dances, kinesthetic moves and more. The site is made up as a simple videogame where the class has got an avatar that changes/develops due to the pupils activities. One can make a free account and use very much of the content but there is a premium too called GoNoodle plus. I don't use that yet. So I'm not sure about how big a difference there really is.
Even though the basic thought of this website is exercise in different ways, there is quite a few more approaches to learning. GoNoodle is constantly developing by the help of its users. One can write and ask for new exercises for instance. There is also a blog to read and get new ideas from.
My reasons, for using GoNoodle.com, are basically two: To get my pupils moving now and then in a fun way but also to let them get to know the English language in an informal way and to listen to it and learn some. Through the semester with my 1:st graders, I've heard the children develop their language and pronunciation through having fun. I sometimes help them along with translations and pictures as a support. /Mickaela
I really like the idea of Go Noodle! It seems to be a fun way to involve exercise in the classroom. I find the page a little bit hard to understand sometimes and I did not like that I had to register to just have a look. The blog, which gives you a lot of different inspiration from other teachers, is really good.
ReplyDeleteI like that there are a lot of different categories to choose from, for example: stretching, calming and even kinestetich learning. It is also good that you can choose witch grade you want to see, it makes it easier to find the right categories for your class. Go Noodle would be a great element in the daily morning routine for example. You can start every day with some exercise with the students to “wake up” their minds. It is also perfect to have if the class seems to have a lot of energy and have troubles focusing on the schoolwork. Then you can stop, have a short exercise to get rid of extra energy and then continue with the lesson. It would also be a perfect ending of the school day, maybe by doing a calming exercise.
The channels are also very good and give teachers a lot of different exercises to use. The exercises combine moving your body with for example, reflecting, singing and games. It also combines learning English with moving your body and that can be a fun way to learn English.
Your blogpost was good and it caught my interest but it would be good to do the address for the page as a link to make it easier for the reader to go to the page.
Thank you for a wonderful tip and I will definitely use this in my classroom!
Hi Nina! I'm glad you liked this site. It's sad you have to make an account just to have a peek, I know. But I really think it's worth It. I use it several times a weekend in my class. Sorry about not making a direct link. Honestly I don't know how to with my IPad.
ReplyDeleteHello Mickaela,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I would like to thank you for sharing this website with us. I did not have any expectations at all when I first visited the site and subscribed to become member. I could start using it straight away and was surprised that it was so easy to get started and to move around the site.
My first impression was that GoNoodle mainly aimed towards younger pupils but after looking at it, I found a lot of inspiring film clips even for the older students. Perhaps it is the name that is a bit misleading.
I found a section with a great variety of Youtube clips showing lots of exiting instruction movies for dancing with Sid from Ice Age and Beyoncés choreographer Frank Gatson Jr, teaching Beyoncés best dance moves for stage.
I really enjoyed the Moose channel as well, with all the funny and crazy songs. And the set up where they are showing the new words on the screen when they are singing them, so the pupils can follow and sing along. What a creative way to learn new words!
I think the reason this website works so well is because the language is natural, playful and funny. The songs and words come out in an relaxed mixture of instructions, jokes and funny sayings. It makes you want to be a part of the activity; to learn new words, new moves and new songs and to comprehend. It ´s a environment that I think young people feel happy in and want to be a part of.
I believe the founder have chosen the material for the website with great care and as you mentioned Mickaela it is constantly being developed and upgraded in communication with users and bloggers that are giving feedback and advice but also placing demands such as asking for new exercises. That is probably the best and fastest way to reach success!
When I subscribed I got an email back instantly from Mollie McCormick, welcoming me to GoNoodle along with some other information to get started. I thought it was being both nice and professional.
Thanks again Mickaela for sharing.
Best regards
Charlotte Strandberg