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TEACHER’S GUIDE
• Encourage your class to think visually, as Leonardo did. Suggest that
students imagine some machine or invention that they’d like to see, then
have them draw a sketch of their idea. Ask the students to discuss
whether the act of drawing helped them expand their ideas.
• Explore perspective drawing with a simple exercise. Explain to the students that Leonardo and other Renaissance artists sometimes used a specific method that allowed them to look at a scene and try to copy it,
almost like a camera. Students can do something similar by taping a
sheet of transparent acetate to a classroom window, then using a marker
to outline what they see through the acetate.This will be easiest if each
student places a chair close to the window, facing backwards. They
should sit backwards in the chairs and prop their chins on the chair
backs, keeping their heads as still as possible. If they cover one eye and
look out through the window, they should be able to make an outline of
the outdoor scene. Students who wish to do so can place a sheet of thin
white paper over the acetate and trace their drawing on the paper.After
coloring the scene, they will probably discover that they were able to
create a more realistic picture than with freehand drawing alone.
Students might first attempt to draw their picture freehand as a comparison.
• Assign each student to create a Leonardo-style workbook. Each day for a
week, have them record an idea or some kind of investigation. One
assignment could be to draw a picture of some part of a plant that interests them.Another assignment could be to write a paragraph detailing a
kind of change that they’d like to see in the world. Be sure that at least
one entry is a drawing of a kind of invention that they’d like to see and
that another entry is an experiment practicing backwards writing.At the
end of the week, give the final assignment: ask the students to imagine
what would happen if they continued making an entry in their workbooks every day, and have them write a paragraph describing how this
daily practice might affect their ability to be creative.
• Leonardo did a good job of promoting himself, and he convinced the
Duke of Milan to become his patron by writing a letter describing the
weapons that he might build for the Duke.Ask the students to imagine
what it would be like to be Leonardo looking for a wealthy patron.
Students can then write a letter to an imaginary patron, using the letter
to promote their skills in creating art, entertainment or inventions that
the patron might want to commission.
• Ask students to conduct research on other noteworthy figures of the
Renaissance period, such as Michelangelo, Brunelleschi and Botticelli.
Students could write a short biographical sketch of their historical
person, including their contributions to society, the themes associated
with their work and a reflection on how their person represents the
ideal of the well-rounded “Renaissance man.”
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TEACHER’S GUIDE
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Suggested Internet Resources
Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our Web site at
www.LibraryVideo.com
• www.leonet.it/comuni/vincimus/invinmus.html
The Leonardo Museum of Vinci, Italy, contains a collection of more than 30
models built from Leonardo’s sketches of his inventions. Students who
explore the site can get a better idea of what Leonardo had in mind.
• www.sanford-artedventures.com/play/leonardo/
A fun, interactive and informative site that invites students to take a timemachine trip back to 1505 to learn more about Leonardo’s world and work.
• www.mos.org/leonardo
The Museum of Science in Boston has an extensive online exhibit devoted
to the life and work of Leonardo.
Suggested Print Resources
• Herbert, Janis. Leonardo Da Vinci for Kids: His Life and Ideas: 21
Activities for Kids. Chicago Review Press. Chicago, IL; 1998.
• Romei, Francesca. Leonardo Da Vinci: Artist, Inventor and Scientist of the
Renaissance. P. Bedrick Books, New York, NY; 1994.
• Stanley, Diane. Leonardo Da Vinci. Morrow Jr. Books, New York, NY; 1996.
TEACHER’S GUIDE CONSULTANT
Jim Quinn
Writer-in-Residence
National Inventors Hall of Fame
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
• A HISTORY OF INVENTION
• INVENTING IN TODAY’S WORLD
• LOUIS PASTEUR
• JAMES WATT
• ELI WHITNEY
• THE WRIGHT BROTHERS
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DA
VINCI
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his guide is a supplement designed for teachers
to use when presenting programs in the video
series Inventors of the World.
This series focuses on famous inventors who have
helped change the course of history with their
groundbreaking ideas. Programs in this series stress
that the process of inventing is much more than a
quick “eureka” moment and is more likely the culmination of a great deal of hard work and experimentation.These programs also dispel the notion that
advancements in science occur only due to the
work of a lone, isolated genius and illustrate how
the great inventors of history often “stood on the
shoulders of giants” and improved upon the work of
others. In addition to documenting the inventors
and their process of invention, this series also highlights how new technologies influenced society at
the time of their inception and how they continue
to shape our modern world.
COMPLETE LIST OF TITLES
• ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL
• GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
• LEONARDO DA VINCI
• THOMAS EDISON
• HENRY FORD
• BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
LEONARDO
®
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CHLESSINGE
MEDIA
A DIVISION OF LIBRARY VIDEO COMPANY®
®
Historical Overview
The historic time period known as the Renaissance featured a dramatic
revival in art, architecture, science, philosophy and commerce.There is no
finer example of the ideals of the Renaissance than Leonardo da Vinci, an
extraordinarily well-rounded person who left behind significant achievements in art, science and engineering. Leonardo’s work was not published in
his lifetime, and it wasn’t until the 19th and 20th centuries that his extensive
notebooks began to give scholars some insight into his unique scientific
imagination.
Leonardo foresaw a wide range of inventions that would not be created for
centuries. His notebooks contain sketches of ideas for futuristic machines
such as a submarine, a tank and a helicopter, feature his ability to imagine and
design, to draw and make models, and highlight his mechanical ability and
engineering skills.
Because he was so accomplished in so many areas, Leonardo is the model for
what is referred to as the “Renaissance man,” an individual who cultivates
interests and abilities in wide-ranging areas instead of narrow fields of specialization. He also stands as a compelling example of how much a single
person can achieve.
Time Line
1452 — Leonardo is born on April 15th in Vinci, Italy.
c.1468 — Artist Andrea del Verrocchio takes on Leonardo as his apprentice.
c.1482 — The Duke of Milan hires Leonardo, who becomes his artist and
engineer.
1499 — Leonardo leaves Milan and begins to travel throughout Italy.
1504 — The Mona Lisa, Leonardo’s most famous painting, is started.
1513 — Leonardo establishes a studio in Rome and accepts commissions
from the Pope and the Medici family.
1516 — Leonardo moves to France at the invitation of his last patron, King
Francis I.
1519 — Leonardo dies on May 2nd in Cloux, France.
Vocabulary
architect — A person who designs buildings and other large structures.
Duke — A title of nobility for a European male, ranking just below a prince
or a king.
pacifist — A person who is strongly or actively against violence or war.
topographical maps — Maps that show differences in elevation; also
called relief maps.
anatomy — The study of the structure and operation of the body.
patron — A rich individual who commissions work from artists, musicians
and other creative persons.
Pre-viewing Discussion
• Young people during Leonardo’s time who wanted to pursue jobs in the
trades, arts or crafts went to work for master craftsmen, learning during
long apprenticeships while working under a master’s supervision. Discuss
the ways in which this arrangement differs from the modern trend, which
has students enroll in schools that teach the skills needed to gain a job in a
field.Ask the students to consider the pros and cons of each system, and to
explain which one they’d prefer for themselves.
• Inform your class that Leonardo relied on the support of patrons, who paid
him to produce things ranging from weapons to paintings.Ask students to
evaluate this type of relationship from the perspective of the artist and the
patron.Also ask students to consider why wealthy or powerful people may
have become patrons of the arts at this time.
• Many of Leonardo’s ideas were way ahead of his time. How do students
think his work would have been accepted had it been published? Ask students to imagine that they have developed a revolutionary and exciting
invention or technology. How would they go about communicating this
idea to other people?
• Inform your students that the Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the
rest of Europe, and was an incredibly creative time in history featuring individuals like Leonardo who had remarkably diverse talents. Leonardo came
to embody the term “Renaissance Man.” Ask students to brainstorm a definition of a “Renaissance Man,” and have them speculate as to why this time
period produced so many talented people.As a follow-up, ask students to
reflect on what it would have been like to live during the Renaissance.
Renaissance — A period of revived interest in learning, the arts and commerce beginning at about 1500 in Europe. It comes from a French word
meaning “rebirth.”
Renaissance man — A phrase used to describe an individual who cultivates a wide range of interests instead of focusing on a narrow specialty.
apprentice — A person who learns a trade, craft or art from working with a
skilled person in his or her field.
(Continued)
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Focus Questions
1. How was the period of the Renaissance different from the years before it?
2.What influence did Verrocchio have in Leonardo’s life?
3.What role did Leonardo’s drawing skills play in his career as an inventor?
4.Why was Florence a stimulating city for Leonardo to live?
(Continued)
5.Why did Leonardo write the Duke of Milan a letter?
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6.What was unique about Leonardo’s drawings of the human body?
7.What were some ways Leonardo imagined people could move around?
8.Why did scholars find it difficult to read Leonardo’s notebooks?
9.Why did Leonardo move to France?
Follow-up Discussion
• Towards the end of his life, Leonardo reflected on his disappointment
that none of his projects had ever come to fruition and is said to have
asked,“Tell me if anything at all was done.”Ask the students to speculate
on the reasons why so many of Leonardo’s ideas were never realized.
Students can also discuss how the world might have been different if
Leonardo’s inventions were created during his lifetime.
• Leonardo once wrote,“The most praiseworthy form of painting is the
one that most resembles what it imitates.”Ask students to discuss the
reasons that the kind of realistic art and scientific drawings produced by
Leonardo and others in the Renaissance would have been more highly
prized in an age when there was no other way to record what people or
scenes looked like.
• History is full of examples of great inventors who relied on visual imagination, as Leonardo did. Explain to the class that some of these great
thinkers include the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Linus Pauling, who
claimed he got his ideas by imagining what various molecules would
look like. Physicist Stephen Hawking says he gets his ideas by visualizing
geometric shapes that represent the ideas he’s pursuing. Discuss with
students what a visual imagination is and why they think visual imagination has helped inventors in their creative endeavors. Conclude by
asking whether learning to draw would help a person cultivate their creative powers.
Follow-up Activities
• Have your class explore Leonardo’s habit of writing backwards. Students
should obtain samples of Leonardo’s writing, showing how it looks
normal in the mirror. (See www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/LeonardoRightto
Left.html for an example of Leonardo’s writing.) Ask students to attempt
to write their signatures (in cursive) from right to left. Most students will
find this to be very difficult. As an experiment, ask students to hold a
pencil in each hand, then to try writing backward with his or her
normal writing hand while writing normally with the opposite hand.
Sometimes it helps to have one hand mirror the other.Then distribute
small hand mirrors to the class, and have them watch their hands in the
mirror as they write, seeing if this makes backward writing easier. Have
them use the mirror to look for errors in the way they shaped their
letters. See if right or left-handed students have an easier time writing
backwards.After the exercise is complete, have the class speculate why
Leonardo might have written backwards.
(Continued)
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