Main menu

Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content
  • Lesson Plans
  • Digital Resources
  • Educator Resources
  • About YMI
  • Join the YMI Educator Network
  • Contact YMI
  • Home

Lesson Plans

Dear Educators and Families

As the coronavirus emergency closes schools across the country, we and our partners hope that our free educational resources help you enrich the home-based learning experience for students in your community. Click HERE to learn more.

About YMI

Helping Educators Inspire Young Minds

Lesson Plans

YMI's educational outreach programs tap into popular culture to create a dynamic learning experience. Browse by subject through our library of free study guides and online resources, to find standards-based lesson plans for your grade level and programs for learners outside the classroom.

Educator Resources

A list of links to sites offering help and other resources for teachers.

Join Our Educator Network

  • Language Arts
  • STEM Skills
  • Social Studies
  • Health & Safety
  • Sports & Fitness
  • Preschool
  • College
  • Home-Based Learning

Celebrate the Hour of Code™ during the week of December 7-13 with a free, fun, hands-on learning experience that inspires critical thinking and introduces students to coding skills. To support …

4-8

As with running any business, numbers are top of mind for dairy farmers as they calculate how much feed their herd will need to stay healthy, how many gallons of …

Grades 2-4

Introduce your students to the concept of sustainable nutrition — food that promotes good health and a healthy environment — with help from the dairy farmers of the American Dairy …

High School

Help your students discover how science has changed farming and improved food production in the 21st century. Students will learn how today’s farmers use robotics and digital technology to care …

Middle School

Join Snoopy — a seasoned space traveler — in celebrating the 20th anniversary of humans living on the International Space Station! Students will learn about the history of the space …

Elementary (K-6)

Test-drive this free online STEM resource designed to help you teach physics and biology. Engaging videos and NGSS-aligned lesson plans turn the results of highway safety research into true teachable …

Grades 5-12

Welcome to Blunderburg where there’s no problem that Chico Bon Bon and his team of engineers — the Fix-It Force — can’t solve. Chico Bon Bon: Monkey With A Tool …

Pre-K - Grade 1

Help your students discover why using wood-based products — especially paper — is key to maintaining healthy forests across the country. K-3 students learn how wood-based products like paper help …

K-6

Explore space and the North and South Poles with activities that complement themes from two books in The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library, an exciting nonfiction series that introduces …

Elementary (Grades 1-4)

Spark students’ interest in math by relating a popular character to a favorite topic — Snoopy and sports — with these standards-based problem-solving activities and puzzles based on popular sports …

Elementary (K-5)

Inspire your students to reach for the stars! Join Snoopy and Woodstock as they explore the International Space Station, travel to the Moon, and dream about the journey to Mars …

Elementary (K-5)

Disneynature’s Penguins is a coming-of-age story about an Adélie penguin named Steve who joins millions of fellow males on a quest to build a suitable nest, find a life partner, …

Elementary (2-6)

Take your students on an exciting STEM adventure with this free program inspired by Spies in Disguise, the new film from Blue Sky Studios. These engaging, NGS standards-based activities will …

Elementary (3-5)

November 15 is America Recycles Day, a great time to engage your class in learning about the importance of reducing waste and making more sustainable choices. Turn this opportunity into …

Elementary & Middle (4-6)

Teach your students how recycling outdated tech products and packaging can lead to a more sustainable future for planet Earth. Students explore renewable and non-renewable resources, create a recycling action …

Elementary (Grades 4-6)

Get students excited about sustainability by exploring the many ways dairy farmers recycle to protect and preserve the environment. Students brainstorm new ways to recycle at home, learn why dairy …

Elementary (2-4)

This four-part financial literacy program features interactive PDFs to provide high school students with hands-on experience in all phases of money management, from spending wisely through investing for long-term wealth. …

High School

Take your students on an exciting science fiction writing adventure as they join the Robinson family in Lost in Space. Season 1 is streaming now on Netflix and Season 2 …

Middle School (6-8)

Take your students on a surprising journey from fashion to farm to the science lab with standards-based activities that start with something literally close to their hearts — their clothing …

Grades 4-6 and 5-8

Add a new dimension to your STEM curriculum with UL Xplorlabs®, a FREE module-based learning platform created by Underwriters Laboratories. UL Xplorlabs® brings safety science to your classroom and allows …

Middle School

Food waste is a serious problem. Each year, the average American family throws away as much as $2,200 worth of uneaten food, and 40% of all food in the U.S. …

Middle & High School

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 10, the NASA mission that made Charlie Brown and Snoopy part of the U.S. space program when their names were used as …

Elementary (K-5)

Help your students make a personal connection to the people and families responsible for producing the nutritious dairy products they enjoy every day. Students virtually visit two Vermont dairy farms …

Elementary & Middle (5-8)

Transport your students to a magnificent amusement park that arises from a special girl’s wildly vivid imagination — then inspire them to dream, create, and build a park of their …

Elementary & Middle (5-8)

Stimulate your students’ imagination with Life in the Glass Age, an innovative video series that will give them a 360° view behind the scenes of everyday life, revealing the many …

Elementary & Middle (4-8)

Find out how milk and other nutritious foods make their way from local farmers to your students’ homes and school lunches. Students learn about dairy farming in their state, review …

Elementary (2-4)

Take your students on a virtual field trip to five dairy farms in the southeastern United States with Meet the Milk Makers!, a video-based online learning game. Then explore the …

Elementary (2-4)

Take your students on a pioneering flight around the world with this study guide based on the new film Planet Power. Students track the journey of Solar Impulse 2, the …

Elementary & Middle (K-8)

Help your students learn more about one of our most critical resources — water — with standards-based lessons that explore the many ways humans have been moving water for thousands …

Elementary (3-5)

Give your students a learning experience that’s literally out of this world with the new Astronaut Training Experience® (ATX) and Mars Base 1 (MB1) adventures at Kennedy Space Center, where …

Elementary - High School (4-12)

Coatings cover 70 percent of the products made in the U.S., helping protect infrastructure, prevent disease, and power our mobile devices, as well as adding color to our world. Use …

Middle School (6-9)

Mobile Electronics Certified Professionals (MECP) are the automotive specialists who combine advanced training with creative passion to install cutting-edge entertainment, navigation, safety and security systems in any vehicle. Let MECP …

High School, Tech School

Give your students a clear view into the future with standards-based science lessons based on Corning’s “A Day Made of Glass” video series, a viral sensation that depicts the future …

Elementary and Middle School

Help your students make a personal connection to the concept of sustainability through their own eating habits and through the example of New England’s regional dairy farmers, for whom sustainable …

Elementary & Middle (5-8)

Help your students become water wise as they learn how local dairy farmers conserve water on their farms, and how they and their families can conserve water at home. Students …

Elementary (2-4)

Let the Monster Guard help your students prepare for real-life emergencies with these app-based lesson plans from the American Red Cross. Students explore the science behind different types of emergencies …

Elementary (1-6)

Send your students and their families on an adventure that’s literally out of this world! Summer of Mars at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience …

Elementary (4-5)

Add depth to your recycling lessons by having students take a closer look at single-use foodservice packaging — what it is, why it’s used, and why it can sometimes be …

Elementary (4-6)

Explore one of nature’s most fearsome weather phenomena with this companion study guide to the film Hurricane, which combines footage collected over five years to tell the story of a …

Elementary & Middle school

What do kids and cows have in common? They both use high-tech devices! Show your students how dairy farmers use 21st century technology to keep their cows healthy and provide …

Elementary (2-4)

Super League Gaming is an exciting new way for young gamers to show off their S.T.E.M. skills and share their passion for problem-solving as they play Minecraft together on the …

Elementary & Middle School

Take your students on a virtual field trip to five Michigan dairy farms with Meet the Milk Makers!, a video-based online learning game (COMING SOON!). Then explore the history of …

Elementary (2-4)

Introduce your students to the new 2015-2020 USDA Dietary Guidelines with these standards-based lesson plans for family and consumer sciences, health, science, social studies, and language arts classes. Students learn …

Middle School

Explore how milk and other nutritious foods make their way from local farms to your students’ homes and school lunches. A fun online video, SunnyBell & the Florida Dairy “Moo”sical, …

Elementary (K-4)

Focusing on three major U.S. wildfires, this video series explores short- and long-term impacts; introduces key terms and concepts; and empowers students to get involved in protecting their homes, neighborhoods, …

Middle School

Enhance your Earth Day science lessons in April with A Beautiful Planet, a breathtaking portrait of Earth that features stunning footage captured by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Book …

Elementary (3-5)

Take your students on a virtual field trip to five Florida dairy farms with Meet the Milk Makers!, a video-based online learning game. Then explore the history of dairy farming …

Elementary (K-4)

Teach your students how they can have a positive impact on the environment by recycling the cartons they use at school every day. Standards-based activity sheets for grades 1-3 and …

Elementary (1-5)

Explore the science behind your students’ dairy favorites — milk, cheese, and yogurt — with these standards-based classroom activities. Students follow milk from the dairy farm to the supermarket, experiment …

Elementary (2-4)

The Merchants of Doubt study guide, developed by the Poynter Institute in joint collaboration with Participant Media and Omidyar Network, is designed to help citizens develop critical thinking skills that …

High School & College

Introduce your students to the wild cats of Africa with this companion study guide to the large format film Wild Cats 3D, hosted by conservationist Kevin Richardson. The guide includes …

Elementary & Middle school

Use these standards-based lesson plans to help your students learn more about where eggs come from and how they move from the farm to our tables, with activities designed for …

Middle School

Add some extra excitement to the end of the school year with this unique science program inspired by the new film San Andreas, coming to theaters May 29, which tells …

Middle School

Let the Peanuts gang help build your students’ language arts, science, and math skills with new bilingual (English and French) learning activities that celebrate the start of spring and baseball …

Elementary (K-3)

Introduce your students to the great apes of Africa and southeast Asia with this companion study guide to the film The Great Apes, hosted by biologist Holly Carroll. Includes separate …

Elementary & Middle school

Introduce your students to the All-American grain — rice! Students learn how rice growing has contributed to American history since colonial times, and how today’s U.S. rice growers not only …

Elementary (3-6)

Inspire your students with “The Glass Age,” a new video series hosted by TV science investigators Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. Students learn about the history of glass and how …

High School

Cook up some excitement in your classroom with lessons that help students discover how science plays a part in everyday life. Kitchen Science introduces basic principles of chemistry with standards-based …

Elementary (3-5)

Take your students on a virtual field trip to five dairy farms with Meet the Milkmakers!, a video-based online learning game. Then explore the history of dairy farming with a …

Elementary (2-4)

Start inspiring imaginations in your classroom with these standards-based PLAY-DOH activities that combine verbal, aural, visual, tactile, and social learning to build foundational skills across the curriculum. Click the images …

Preschool & Grades PreK-2

Empower your students to conserve energy as they conduct an in-class energy use assessment, research the impact of different energy sources, and create an energy conservation awareness campaign, which could …

Middle School

Explore one of the world’s most amazing ecosystems with this companion study guide to the film Galapagos: Nature’s Wonderland, written by world renowned naturalist David Attenborough and narrated by conservationist …

Elementary & Middle school

Explore how milk and other nutritious foods make their way from local farmers to your students’ homes and school lunches. Students take a virtual tour of a dairy farm, discover …

Elementary (2-4)

Find out how farm and city lifestyles connect to help both kids and our planet stay healthy. Students use a Venn diagram to compare Annie’s typical day on a dairy …

Elementary (2-4)

The Nature Conservancy has created new standards-aligned learning resources — videos, lesson plans and activity guides — to help teachers across the country turn a school garden into a ecoscience …

Middle School

Celebrate World Space Week (October 4-10) and send your students on a real-world space adventure with this science program based on the new Warner Bros. film Gravity, arriving in theaters …

Middle and High School

Introduce your students to the King Penguins of South Georgia Island with this companion study guide to the film Penguins, from world-renowned filmmaker and naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Includes activity …

Elementary & Middle school

Introduce your students to Newton’s Universal Law of Gravity and Three Laws of Motion in a whole new way with FMA Live!, the award-winning interactive hip-hop concert that connects science …

Elementary & Middle School

This teaching kit, The Science of Safety, is designed to help you bring The Pillowcase Project into your classroom, with standards-based learning activities that provide students with a scientific perspective …

Elementary (3-5)

Here’s a totally new way for teachers and parents to talk with kids about the Internet — Growing Up Online, a free, interactive e-book that includes four live-action comic book …

Elementary and Middle School

Give your students the tools to keep their families safe from harmful bacteria in food, including a FREE Picnic Park game app that makes food safety awareness fun and a …

Elementary (3-5)

Enlist your students in Smokey Bear’s campaign to use fire responsibly and reduce human-caused wildfires with this standards-based curriculum that takes a forensic science approach to wildfire prevention and wildland …

Middle School

Bring the excitement of the popular CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation into your classroom with this adventure in forensic science. Students join the characters from the new Club CSI: …

Elementary (4-6)

Inspire your students to Value Your Power as they learn how to save energy at home using math and science activities specially designed to meet the Virginia State Standards for …

Elementary (3-5)

Fasten your seat belt for a thrilling ride through the history and science of aviation with this study guide to Air Racers, a documentary of high-speed flight from the fighter …

Elementary & Middle School

Stimulate your students’ “ecomagination” with these environmental science programs designed for classrooms and community youth groups. The classroom teaching kit features simple experiments that explore wind power, solar power, the …

Elementary & Middle School

Is Earth an alien planet? Let your students decide when they blast off with these fun learning activities based on the 3D animated family film, Escape from Planet Earth, opening …

Elementary (2-5)

Let the LEGO Hero Factory team take your students on an ecological adventure to learn about adaptation, conservation, and the role technology plays in protecting our planet. Whiteboard-ready online activities …

Elementary (2-4)

Explore the possibilities of wireless technology with activities that trace the history of wireless communication, gauge the impact that mobile devices have had on society, and examine how wireless innovations …

Middle & High School

Join two unlikely friends (who happen to be wolves) on an adventure-filled trek across the great Northwest with this study guide to the film Alpha and Omega. Students map the …

Elementary (1-4)

Young Minds Inspired | 605 Washington Avenue, North Haven, CT 06473 | 800.859.8005 | feedback@ymiclassroom.com
Terms of Use