by Christina Campbell (writing & research)
and Samantha Snider (research)
GoNoodle is a free website, with a downloadable app, that is designed to teach students through movement. Through physical activity, students develop confidence in themselves as GoNoodle activities enhance students’ overall well-being, fosters academic success and mindfulness. GoNoodle gives the opportunity for all students to be physically engaged and connect movement to life skills and the curriculum to enhance their learning experiences. GoNoodle provides differentiated instruction as it offers accessible features for students. The embedded multimedia (such as the videos with audio) helps students address socio-emotional needs like focus and self-control. Some activities are customized for English language learners and there is the ability to add closed captioning to the videos. It is a great addition to any lesson as a learning tool to get the students actively participating in their learning.
The following are categories and themed activities within GoNoodle:
- Curricular (Math, Science, ELA, Social Studies, Health Education, Music, Reading Practice, and Spanish)
- SEL and Mindfulness (Boost Confidence, Build Compassion, Enhance Focus, Manage Stress, Practice Self-control)
- Sensory and Motor Skills (Cross Lateral Skills, Coordination, Locomotor Skills, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Body Awareness, Balance)
- School Life (Holidays, Test Best, Indoor Recess, Class Routines)
Each category contains activities that incorporate at least one of the following movement types: guided dance, breathe, stretch, call & repeat, workout, partner up, freestyle, competition, and “brainercise”. As you explore the different activities and movement types in GoNoodle, don’t forget to click the heart icon to save your favourites to a playlist to access later! My favourite Movement Type is Call & Repeat – Milkshake Song; check it out!
Creating a Class:
When you sign up with a free account, you get to select a GoNoodle character to represent 
your activity levels. As you complete the various GoNoodle activities, your character will develop and “level up” (or evolve) to show that the student is actively engaging with the app/website. It takes 10 activities to reach a new character level.
When you create a “new class”, you have the option to create a “class” labelled for each child participating if they want to be responsible for their own character’s growth, or you can just create one class for the whole family to play. However, you can only play one class profile at any given time.
The GoNoodle Blog:
The GoNoodle Blog can be used to gather more ideas, tips, and information on how best to incorporate GoNoodle at home or in the classroom.
The blog is regularly updated with posts about why physical activity is important for students’ learning and ideas on how others in the GoNoodle community are using the app.
GoNoodle is available on Google Play, the App Store, Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Appstore for download, or can be used directly from your web browser. While this service is available for free, upgrading to GoNoodlePlus ($10 per month) provides access to more learning extensions and video content.
