Building Community With GoNoodle!

Do you GoNoodle?!  You should!  GoNoodle can be hugely powerful for binding a class together, building teamwork and working toward a common goal. It's also SUPER brain friendly! Allow me to explain...

I remember when I took my first position as a third grade teacher...we were ALL about brain-friendly teaching that year.  As a collective whole, we were immersed in a book study called "The Art of Changing the Brain" by James E. Zull, and I served on a district committee that helped facilitate discussions with colleagues about how to integrate more brain-friendly lessons into our curricula. Although it was a very technical read full of neuro-scientific jargon, I loved it so much that I quickly devoured other books on the topic.  I really enjoyed "Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites", "Brain-Compatible Classrooms", and "Brain Rules".  Highly recommended!!! :)

Did you know that brains are hard-wired to crave certain things?  Novelty is just one example, and it makes perfect sense. Humans are natural explorers.  We are always trying to make sense of our environment and our life experiences.  We are curious... we problem-solve... and we have fun when we encounter something shiny and new.  Researchers have found that novelty causes a number of brain systems to become activated such as the the dopamine system.  Although, dopamine is typically thought of as the "feel good neurotransmitter", a growing body of evidence suggests that it's more like the “gimme more” neurotransmitter.  Dopamine also is very much involved in learning and memory, which occur in the brain through changes in the way that neurons connect to one another. From biological and survival standpoints, it makes sense that we would literally be hard-wired to pay attention to novelty over the mundane.  As teachers, we cannot ignore the fact that our brains crave novelty.  Instead, we must harness it and use it to our greatest advantage.  Of course, there are countless ways to engage students in the classroom using a little bit of novelty, but today, I just want to focus on brain breaks, because let's face it, they are magical. Pure MAGIC.

What is a brain break, you ask?  A brain break is a purposeful break during instruction that is intended, quite literally, to give your students brains a break.  :)  I have enjoyed a variety of brain breaks over the years.  I still love cross-over exercises because they activate both sides of the brain, but I also LOVE using videos that tie into our lessons.  I have become a pretty big fan of using School House Rocks videos and Flocabulary songs to drive home concepts we work on in class.  However, the FREE website GoNoodle has definitely become our go-to-source-for-brain-breaks.  Oh my word.  The kids are obsessed, and it's easy to see why!

Let's talk real talk.  First of all, as I mentioned, GoNoodle is a FREE resource.  Although it does give you the option to upgrade, the free version has a plethora of videos to enjoy!  I don't know about you, but I LOVE FREE QUALITY RESOURCES!  What teacher doesn't?  (Am I right?)  I love that the videos are so kid-friendly, and they allow kids to engage in short bursts of physical activity.  This gives them a "break", gets their blood and oxygen pumping, and helps them refocus on our classroom responsibilities.  Ultimately, it helps keep my kiddos focused, engaged, and motivated, and it only takes a few minutes each day.  The videos are perfect as transitions, as an energizer, or as a reward at the end of the day.  Personally, I really like that there are different kinds of brain breaks.  I can pick calming brain breaks that help prepare my students for concentration, I can choose energizing brain breaks to provide a controlled-outlet for extra wiggles, or I can choose focusing brain breaks, like stretching, that help my students refocus on the tasks at hand.  The other thing that my students enjoy is watching their classroom "Champs" grow and evolve as earn minutes.  They choose their own itty bitty baby Champ as a class, and they watch it mature until they max it out.  Then they have a chance to pick a new Champ and begin the process all over again.  It's amazing how excited my third AND fourth grade kiddos are about watching the Champ go into the "Transmogrifier". 

My students have yet to find a video that they aren't crazy about.  They really enjoy the sports options... the Zumba Kids videos... and pretty much everything.  Literally.  Even some of the videos that are clearly silly and/or created for younger students have delighted my students.  They love quirky silly stuff,  and GoNoodle delivers in a big way.  A class favorite is  "Ice Cream and Guacamole"... friends...it was an instant hit. The first time I played it, my room was a dance party for three minutes before getting back to test prep business... and I am so glad they had a few minutes to just take a break... be KIDS... and dance their wiggles away. My students also love all of the videos compiled from popular movies.  They are some of the class favorites for sure. It's nice to have videos without ads and the extraneous information that sometimes litters the screen on YouTube.

Beyond that, I love that my students dance together, sing together, and grow closer together as a community through each brain break.  They laugh, they exchange glances, and we become more of a school family each and every time.  That has been an unexpected bonus, and it makes my teacher heart so full and so happy!

Because I was planning on writing this post, I enlisted my students to help out by sharing what they enjoy about GoNoodle.  I had my third graders send messages using their Google Apps accounts, and I had my fourth graders write a more tangible letter.  Click on the scanned letter below to read some of the feedback I received from my students! :)  I think the letters show just how embedded GoNoodle brain breaks have become in our classroom culture and how much we love it!

Now, make sure to sign up for a FREE GoNoodle Account!  I promise, you won't regret it. and your students will thank you!  Make your students brains happy today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


If you're interested...keep hopping over to my sweet friend, Erica!  She's going to talk to you about why GoNoodle is so great for students with special needs.  :)  Hop on through with the link below!