Today’s Walking Classroom focuses on Leonardo da Vinci, a famous Italian inventor and artist who lived during the Renaissance. Da Vinci is well known for paintings like the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, although he also spent much of his time on other types of creations and inventions. His many interests went beyond painting and included anatomy, architecture, and engineering.
Character Value: Patience
Click for Standards Alignment
Common Core
L–Language | SL–Speaking and Listening | RI–Reading: Informational | RL–Reading: Literature | W–Writing | RH–6-8 Literacy in History/Social Studies | RST–6-8 Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects Elementary School:RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.4
RL.4.7, RI.4.1, RI.4.2, RI.4.3, SL.4.1, SL.4.4
RL.5.7, RI.5.1, RI.5.2, RI.5.3, SL.5.1, SL.5.4
Middle School:
RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.3, SL.6.1, SL.6.4
RI.7.1, RI.7.2, RI.7.3, SL.7.1, SL.7.4
RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.3, SL.8.1, SL.8.4
RH.6-8.4
Next Generation Science Standards
PS–Physical Science | LS–Life Science | ESS–Earth and Space Science | ETS–Engineering, Technology and the Application of Science Elementary School: 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-3Middle School: MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4
Supplemental Resource Links and Downloads
Quiz: (Make sure you're already logged into your Gmail account, then click to copy this Google form to your Google Drive. Quiz keys are here.)
Leonardo da Vinci Google Quiz
Slide Deck:
Leonardo da Vinci Slide Deck
Shows footage of a giant mechanical elephant, built in France, inspired by “the mechanical world” of da Vinci.
Introduces the ultimate Renaissance Man in a kid-friendly way.
Search for terms related to Leonardo da Vinci.
Analyze the Mona Lisa and other paintings of da Vinci’s from the Louvre (Activity 1), in this activity from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Research da Vinci’s impact on many different areas of Renaissance knowledge (Activity 2), in this project from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Practice writing backwards in this activity from the Museum of Science, Boston.
Test knowledge of Leonardo da Vinci and his contributions by unscrambling the words.
Explore the Leonardo da Vinci Galleries at Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology.
Have a look at da Vinci’s sketches and try to identify which invention they became in this online activity from the Museum of Science, Boston.
Create an invention using a variety of materials; imagine and design inventions to solve specific challenges in this project from the Museum of Science, Boston.
Identify and sketch the simple machines that create a gadget to help understand how it works in this activity from the Museum of Science, Boston.
See More Podcasts in Subject Area: Science
See More Themed Groupings that Contain this Podcast: Biographies, Figures from Science, Historical Figures, Innovators: Artists, Inventors & More, Middle Ages & Renaissance, Physical Science