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.

STEM Skills

Elementary – Grades 1-3 and 4-6

Take your students on a learning adventure with activities and games that incorporate analytical thinking and creativity to explore the science behind avian migration, how…

Elementary Grades 1-3

Encourage your students to become learning stars with inspiration from Asha, the heroine who turns to the sky and stars to help her family and…

Grades 4-8

Encourage your students to learn about the legend and the science behind an American treat—popcorn. They’ll explore popcorn’s role in American myth, the science of…

Grades 4-6, 6-8

Engage your students in a quest to explore the mysterious and mythological world of dragons with activities inspired by the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game…

Elementary Grades 2-4

Explore how denim “grows” from the cotton plant with the help of a whimsical cotton boll named Baxter as your guide. Students learn about the…

Grades 9-12

Introduce your students to careers in dermatology — a field that is growing in numbers, practice, and diversity — as they explore skin care for…

K-12

Adopt a Cow is a FREE year-long educational enrichment program that pairs K-12 classes with a dairy calf in New England. Once registered, your class…

1-2 and 3-6

New dinosaurs. New habitats. New season. The five-night second season of the award-winning natural history event series Prehistoric Planet transports viewers millions of years into…

Grades 1-3

Welcome to Element City! It is a unique and thriving metropolis where residents made of air, land, fire, and water live together — carefully! Inspired…

3-5

Help your students celebrate spring and Earth Day (April 22) in an exciting new way! Based on the environmental messages in Dr. Seuss’s timeless book,…

Elementary (Grades 1-5)

Encourage students to take small steps to create big changes to help wildlife around the world with activities inspired by Jane Garcia, the 9-year-old activist-in-training…

Grades 5-6, 7-8

Research shows that children begin to self-medicate at around age 11 — in fifth and sixth grades. This free multi-media educational program is designed to…

Grades 2-12

Add a close-to-home perspective to your curricula with expanded programs and activities inspired by dairy farmers for students from grades 2 through 12. Science on…

2-4, 4-6, 5-8

Explore the world of cotton by taking your students on a surprising journey from fashion to farm to the science lab with standards-based activities that…

Elementary (K-2, 3-6)

Gazing at the night sky never fails to fill us with wonder: Are we all alone in the vastness of space? In season 2 of…

5-8

Help your students understand the importance—and fun—of using science as a tool for solving real world problems with The End Is Nye. The series, hosted…

K-12

Prepare your students for safe adventures online with Into the Cloud, the new NetSmartz® web-series that takes kids on an exciting journey across the internet…

Elementary (K-6)

Join the Peanuts gang and embrace the messages of positivity and caring for ourselves, for each other, and for the Earth. Inspire students with these…

Elementary & Middle (K-8)

Take your students on a fascinating exploration of the world of lemon sharks – a species whose hunting behaviors are found only in the waters…

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Let your middle schoolers explore climate change with IMAX presents The Last Glaciers. Traveling across several countries over four years, Filmmaker Craig Leeson highlights the…

Middle School and High School

The Actuarial Foundation has developed a suite of free math and financial literacy programs that offer live and virtual mentoring and tutoring support, easy-to-use lesson…

Elementary (K-2, 3-6)

Explore, learn, and dream with Snoopy as he soars into space! You and your students can join Snoopy as he prepares for his new role…

6-8 and 9-12

With the school year underway, many young people are taking increased care of themselves and making many of their own food choices. Helping them to…

Daycare to Grade 1

Ridley Jones lives a life of adventure in a museum that comes alive at night. She and her friends work together to problem solve, learn…

1-3

Bring teamwork and fun into your classrooms with activities from TRANSFORMERS and POWER RANGERS. With the help of TRANSFORMERS, your students will journey to Cybertron…

Grades 5-12

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…

K-6

Help your students discover why using wood-based products — especially paper — is key to maintaining healthy forests across the country. An expanded K-3 program…

Elementary (K-6)

Join Snoopy as he celebrates the landing of NASA’s rover Perseverance and its mission to find signs of ancient life on Mars. Students will learn…

Elementary & Middle (K-8)

Take your students on a nature adventure with activities based on the film The Search for Snow. Students will explore how weather patterns affect types…

Elementary & Middle (K-8)

Take your students on a fascinating exploration of the world of cephalopods – a group that includes squid, octopus, and cuttlefish – with activities based…

4-8

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…

Grades 2-4

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…

High School

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

Middle 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…

Elementary (K-6)

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

Pre-K - Grade 1

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…

Elementary (Grades 1-4)

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…

Elementary (3-5)

Practicing essential math skills is more fun with a boost from Sonic the Hedgehog! Building on the concepts of speed and problem-solving, the Sonic the…

Elementary (K-5)

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…

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…

Elementary (2-6)

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…

Elementary (3-5)

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…

Elementary & Middle (4-6)

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…

Elementary (Grades 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…

Elementary (2-4)

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…

High School

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…

Middle School (6-8)

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…

Middle School

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…

Middle & High 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…

Elementary (K-5)

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…

Elementary & Middle (5-8)

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…

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…

Elementary & Middle (4-8)

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…

Elementary (2-4)

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…

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…

Elementary & Middle (K-8)

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…

Elementary (3-5)

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

Elementary - High School (4-12)

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…

Middle School (6-9)

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…

High School, Tech School

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…

Elementary and Middle 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…

Elementary & Middle (5-8)

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…

Elementary (2-4)

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…

Elementary (4-5)

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…

Elementary (4-6)

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…

Elementary & Middle school

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…

Elementary (2-4)

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…

Elementary (2-4)

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!)….

Middle School

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…

Elementary (K-5), Middle School (6-8)

Introduce your students to Florida dairy farms and the farmers who provide nutritious products for their communities. Lessons include the science behind dairy production, milk’s…

Elementary (3-5)

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…

Elementary (K-4)

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…

Elementary (1-5)

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…

Elementary (2-4)

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

Elementary & Middle school

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…

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…

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…

Elementary (K-3)

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…

Elementary & Middle school

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…

Elementary (3-6)

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…