Leonardo da Vinci - The Complete Series (6 lessons)

This scheme of work includes everything you need including, lesson plans, slides, differentiated activities, challenge cards, investigations and more.

The first lesson in this series gives your class a brief introduction to the Renaissance and the changes that occurred during this time. They will then explore who Leonardo da Vinci was and what he was famous for. They will investigate the fields of study Leonardo da Vinci was interested in and consider the reasons why he studied so many different topics. They will also discuss a range of Leonardo da Vinci's work and make inferences about his motivations and ideas.

This lesson looks at Realism during the Renaissance and how it changed portrait painting styles during this time. The slides investigate the portraits painted by Leonardo da Vinci and how his painting techniques were mirrored to his original drawings. The famous 'Mona Lisa' is explained in more detail and children will have the opportunity to paint this well-known portrait for themselves.

This lesson looks at the famous religious painting 'The Last Supper' and how perspective and composition are used when painting scenes. Children will look at the backgrounds, mid-grounds and foregrounds in Leonardo da Vinci's paintings and discuss the fine details used.

This lesson explores the variety of interests Leonardo da Vinci had and how he recorded his ideas. Children will investigate his sketches and drawings and discuss how these images influenced the ideas of others. They will look at drawing techniques and have the opportunity to draw just like Leonardo da Vinci.

This lesson provides children with the opportunity to be an inventor for an hour! It looks at the inventions and ideas Leonardo da Vinci explored and how his ideas impacted people during the Renaissance. Children will investigate the types of machines Leonardo da Vinci designed and the motivations behind these designs.

The final lesson in this scheme of work looks at the influence Leonardo da Vinci had on others during the Renaissance. Children will learn about how his techniques were used by other artists, inventors, engineers and scientists. The lesson explains where some of his artwork is kept and why people like to visit it.