Scientist. Inventor. Painter. Sculptor. Architect. Cartographer. Mathematician. Maverick?
Leonardo da Vinci is often referred to as the quintessential example of a Renaissance Man, or someone who excels spectacularly in a range of disparate subject areas. Far from being a dilettante, da Vinci is widely considered to have been a genius, and has left lasting significant contributions in fields such as medicine, art, mathematics, and engineering. Nearly 500 years after his death, da Vinci’s creativity, brilliance, and the sheer audacity of his ideas mark him as one of the greatest minds ever known. Contemporary scientists, inventors, and artists regularly cite him as an inspiration, and his relevance still reverberates today.
One of the beauties of learning about da Vinci (and there are many) is that he’s a perfect subject for cross-curricular studies. While he’s widely studied in art classes, his ideas in engineering, mathematics, and medicine in particular lend themselves to fertile exploration in a variety of subject areas. The resources chose this week focus on different aspects of Leonardo’s many legacies.
This week’s Joann’s Picks column on the Gateway’s home page, www.TheGateway.org, focuses on resources to help your students learn about Leonardo da Vinci. Peggy’s Corner will discuss online tools and providers that can help you tackle this important subject with your students. Additional resources on the topic will be presented and discussed on the Gateway’s Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TheGateway.org) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/Gatewaytoskills) pages.
Discussions will also continue on last week’s theme of racism on both pages. All of the weekly Gateway columns and resource selections are archived on the following blog site: http://thegatewayto21stcenturyskills.blogspot.com/.
Resources covered in this week’s columns include:
Breaking the Codex
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-01-25.8720033080
Subjects: World history, Science, Language Arts
Grade: 4-6
In this lesson, students learn about Leonardo da Vinci and his legacy. The lesson contains activities in which students create advertisements in honor of one of da Vinci's inventions, and attempt to copy his mirror-handwriting technique. This lesson is part of the Time Warp Trio series produced by WGBH, the flagship PBS station in Boston. These lessons offer concise overviews of historical time periods, and include two activities, curriculum connections and standards, handouts, and recommended books and links. All lessons are linked to national standards.
Leonardo da Vinci Activity: Vitruvian Man
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-01-25.3485658132
Subject: Algebra
Grade: 6-8
How can we trust a drawing? One of Leonardo da Vinci's drawings is called the Vitruvian Man. It is based on a model of ideal mathematical proportions. In this activity, students will measure each other, chart their data, and test whether their respective arm spans equal their heights. This lesson is offered by The Math Forum at Drexel University, which provides expert math help services, online resources for teaching and learning, and curricular materials.
Theft of the Mona Lisa
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-01-26.9901079521
Subjects: Art, World history
Grade: 7-12
The theft of the Mona Lisa created a frenzy when it was stolen in 1911. In this lesson, students will investigate the question, "What is an icon?" They will compare their impressions and interpretations of the Mona Lisa to the hypothetical opinions of other people affected by this painting. This lesson is also a natural starting point for a discussion about which images have become, or will become, icons in the future, leading students to investigate the following Life-long Learning Question: What shared understandings does an iconic image communicate? This lesson is a product of PBS Treasures of the World, which highlights the stories behind various masterworks of art and nature.
About The Gateway to 21st Century Skills
The Gateway has been serving teachers continuously since 1996. It is the oldest publicly accessible U.S. repository of educational resources on the Web and the oldest continuously operating service of its kind in the world. The Gateway is sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA) and supported by over 700 quality contributors. The Gateway to 21st Century Skills is the cornerstone of the Global Learning Resource Connection (GLRC) which is a JES & Co. program.
About Joann Wasik- Author of Joann’s Picks
Joann is the Metadata Cataloger for The Gateway for 21st Century Skills. Her primary responsibilities for The Gateway include locating and cataloging standards-based K-12 lessons and activities for The Gateway, as well as writing the “Joann’s Picks” weekly column. Before joining The Gateway in 2006, Joann had been involved with numerous projects at the Information Institute of Syracuse at Syracuse University, including virtual reference with the Virtual Reference Desk (VRD) project; virtual reference competencies and education with the Digital Reference Education Initiative (DREI) project; and metadata cataloging with the Gateway for Educational Materials (GEM). Her previous experience also includes technology training and positions in academic libraries. She also conducts freelance research for business and educational clients. Joann holds B.A. and M.A.T. degrees in English from Boston College, and an M.L.S. degree from Syracuse University.
About Peggy James- Author of Peggy’s Corner
Peggy received her B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from The University of Arizona, and continued on to earn her M.Ed. from the U of A as well. She has taught Physical Science and Chemistry at the high school level. She is working toward her endorsement in Gifted Education, and has been actively involved in coaching and volunteering in Odyssey of the Mind and Academic Decathlon. She has a passion for teaching critical thinking and creativity in the classroom. She has done work evaluating and aligning lesson plans to standards as a curriculum consultant with the National Education Association Health Information Network. She is very excited to help create a collaborative environment for educators to discover new resources that will enhance their teaching!
About the GLRC
The Global Learning Resource Connection (GLRC) is a public-private collaboration which brings to fruition ongoing work between JES & Co., a U.S. 501(c)(3) education research organization, corporate sponsors and education agencies worldwide. Leading the initial corporate involvement are founding worldwide partners Microsoft, Cisco, Cengage/Gale, the National Education Association (NEA), and other leading corporations in process. The GLRC ties together several significant semantic web technologies developed through funding from the National Science Foundation and is designed to support cyber learning. The GLRC supports the implementation of the mapping of major collections of learning resources in systems around the world to the machine-readable expressions of the learning outcomes based on the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) modeling and technical framework. The work will implement the international linking of those resources through trans-jurisdictional mapping of learning outcomes by means of Semantic Web/Linked Data principles for teacher/learner access and use. For more information about the GLRC, contact Terry Smithson at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or visit us www.JESandCo.org.
About JES & Co.
JES & Co., a publicly funded 501(c) (3) education research organization, is a leader in research and deployment of education programs based on open standards. With 20 years of experience in interoperability and portability of educational resources, organizations around the world come to JES & Co. for leadership and guidance on education programs and initiatives. Since its establishment in the early 1990s, JES & Co. has led and managed The Achievement Standards Network (ASN), The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, The Gateway to 21st Century Skills (formerly known as GEM), the Dell Academy, the Intel Student Certification Program, and Microsoft’s Partners in Learning. For more information about JES & Co. or the Global Learning Resource Connection, visit www.JESandCo.org.
custom essay writing service adjust essays to your writing style! | Это то , что вы искали - паркетная доска киев. | Очень большой магазин копий часов - http://www.swissexpert.ru с доставкой по Москве. | why is my computer so slow