Discovering DaVinci’s Ideas on Proportions: Focus on Italy
A learning unit constructed by The Columbus Council on World Affairs for use at summer
culture camps but transferable to mainstream classroom use. We appreciate all feedback.
Ages 8-16
Number of Students: Any
Time Frame: 2 hours
Learning Objectives:
A. Global Connections:
 The geographical themes of place, culture, and land.
 What did Leonardo DaVinci discover regarding the universal aspects of all human
proportion
 Discover Leonardo DaVinci’s Bird’s Eye view of a map.
Materials Needed:
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Picture books about Italy – 1 for every 2-3 students.
Newspaper or large bulletin board paper
Rulers
Yard or meter sticks ( one for each team of students)
Pencils
Activity 1:- Introduce the great inventor, Leonardo DaVinci and the country of Italy.
A. Discuss what an invention is and what is special about inventors.
Ideas: curious about the world, desire to learn, ask questions, finds things interesting, etc.
Ask if anyone can name an inventor.
Ask if anyone has ever heard of Leonard da Vinci?
List of his inventions: tank, helicopter, bicycle, submarine, hang glider, parachute,
Pulleys, cranes, bridges, water turbines, mechanical saws, drills, locks for canals,
Etc.
B. Leonardo was from Italy. Conduct a discovery lesson using picture books about Italy.
Give 2 students a picture book to share. Ask them to find food, clothing, land, buildings,
interesting activities, funny pictures, unusual pictures and have them show and describe.
This discussion needs extemporaneous explanations from the teacher.
C. Da Vinci was one of the finest painters and sculptors the world has ever seen. Name some
works:
Mona Lisa, David, Pieta, Sistine Chapel, the Last Supper, etc. He discovered the use of
proportion and perspective in art.
Activity 2: Proving Da Vinci’s Ideas on Human Proportions
1. Have each pair or team of students take a few sheets of newspaper and tape them together
to form a piece large enough for a student to lie down and stretch out. The student on the
paper is outlined by the other(s) with a marker.-This tracing activity is suitable for students
8 years or younger. For older students have them stand with a partner and use both rulers
and yard sticks to measure the following.
2. Give each pair or team a ruler and have them prove the following:
8 and younger can do only letters “a and f or g”.
a. The span of one’s outstretched arms is equal to ones height
b. The adult head is one-eighth of one’s height
c. The face is in 3 equal parts: chin to nostrils, nostrils to eyebrows, eyebrows to hairline.
d. The distance from across the face from one ear to the other is the same as from the
eyebrow to the chin.
e. The length of the forearm up to the elbow is one-fourth of the body’s height
f. The foot is one-half as long as the distance from the heel to the knee.
g. The distance from the elbow to wrist is one-half the length of the thighbone.
Judge the above activity by the ages of the students and their attention span.
Activity 2 or 3 Cartography/ A game using the idea of proportion.
This activity is for students 9 years and older.
DaVinci developed the “Bird’s Eye View” concept of map making.
Discuss what does this mean. Show a picture of a Bird’s Eye View map.
An excellent example is an emergency exit map typically available in all classrooms near the doorway.
Explain scale: examples such as Matchbox cars, Video games.
1. Divide children into teams. Give each team a large paper already divided into grids.
2. Grids should be labeled with horizontal and vertical letters.
3. Have each team draw a map of a large room, using the grid paper.
4. Students are encouraged to include all or specify a minimum number of major objects in the
room on the map.
5. When the map is complete, give each team a small handful of objects. Five colored blocks or
Lego pieces work well. The team must key the location of the five objects they hide.
6. Teams will exchange maps and the key ( a list of grid coordinates)
to the hidden objects. (Hiding of one object is satisfactory also).
7. If another team is able to read the map and key and locate the objects, the map making team is
successful.
8. Note: have teams hide the objects while the other teams are not looking!
9. If multiple rooms are available, separate teams in different rooms thus allowing them to hide
objects simultaneously.
10. Older children can be introduced to the idea of scale.
Special thanks to Bobbie Mucha and Stephanie Calondis Geiger for development of this lesson.