Students at Ranchwood Elementary School in Yukon, OK, have been getting more physical activity during the school day using a new product called GoNoodle. GoNoodle uses interactive games to improve youth health and stimulate learning through short bursts of physical activity in the classroom. Playing Run With US!, one of the games in GoNoodle, students have been running next to their desks and logging miles towards their goal of completing a marathon. To celebrate the accomplishment of Ranchwood students today, Olympic long distance runner Ryan Hall will join the students in the classroom as they play GoNoodle.
Created to offer an easy, effective and fun way to incorporate physical activity in the classroom and engage students in learning, GoNoodle is based on research that shows short bursts of physical activity have positive effects on youth health and aids in academic behaviors and classroom focus. GoNoodle’s Run With US! game, created in partnership with the USA Track & Field Foundation (USATFF), features Olympic-caliber track and field athletes who serve as virtual coaches for elementary students as they participate in virtual track and field events next to their desks.
“We love GoNoodle,” said Renae McGregor, First Grade teacher at Ranchwood Elementary School in Yukon, OK. “We actually use it several times throughout the day as ‘brain breaks’ to help us be more calm and in control for lessons.”
Olympic-caliber athletes like Ryan Hall are inspiring students to be more physically active every day. Considering childhood obesity has tripled in the last 30 years, GoNoodle and its games like Run With US! serve as a solution to reach and inspire kids to get up, get moving and be more physically active throughout the day — helping them gain important minutes of physical activity towards the recommended 60 minutes daily, as recently put forth by First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Active Schools initiative and the Centers for Disease Control’s Burn to Learn program.
“GoNoodle is a powerful triple play for schools—its fun for students, it creates incremental minutes of physical activity for kids, and it seamlessly fits into teachers’ class schedules with positive effects on student focus and engagement,” said Scott McQuigg, CEO of HealthTeacher, Inc, the interactive youth health company that created GoNoodle.
Designed to stimulate learning and add minutes of physical activity to kids’ daily lives, GoNoodle gives teachers an effective way to re-engage students and to focus learning on core subjects like math, English, and science. To use GoNoodle, teachers simply need internet access and a screen, projector or interactive whiteboard. Using the space around each student’s desk, the class participates in a variety of interactive exercise games, each designed to be played in 5 minutes or less. Teachers can sign-up to use GoNoodle for free at gonoodle.com.
The GoNoodle suite of brain-break games that include Run With US! is being made available to Oklahoma City area elementary classrooms through generous support of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City.
About GoNoodle
GoNoodle is a research-based classroom resource for elementary teachers to improve student engagement and youth health through desk-side movement activities and brain-break games. Helping to increase energy and focus while improving classroom behavior, GoNoodle games include Run With US!, developed in partnership with the USA Track & Field Foundation, To the Maximo, Boogie Down, and Airtime, all of which can be played on an interactive whiteboard or computer. GoNoodle is powered by HealthTeacher, Inc, the interactive leader in youth health. Learn more at gonoodle.com.
About Run With US!
A game within GoNoodle, Run With US! connects Olympic-caliber athletes with students to coach desk-side track and field activities, like running in place. Kids compete in qualifiers as they work up to the world championship and earn virtual medals along the way. Run With US! was created in partnership with the USA Track & Field Foundation.
The USATF Foundation provides a means to attract and guide funds to new and innovative track and field programs with an emphasis on providing opportunities for youth athletes, emerging elite athletes, distance training centers and anti-doping education. The Foundation depends upon donations from its Board of Directors, major gifts and from generous fans of track & field.
Elite athletes are supported by the Foundation via monetary grants, career counseling (mentoring & jobs) and participation in Run With US! Youth athletes are supported via monetary grants to youth clubs.