Leonardo da Vinci reading comprehension and activity pack for KS1 and KS2: everything you need to teach the life and work of the Renaissance painter, inventor and scientist, ready to print on A4. Two original reading texts at different levels let the whole class learn about the same great artist at the right level of challenge, with beautiful full-colour illustrations and a full answer key.

What’s included (14 pages):
• Teacher notes with curriculum links and ideas for use.
• KS1 reading text (Years 1–2): a short, clear, illustrated biography of Leonardo da Vinci with key words in bold.
• KS1 comprehension questions: true or false, gap fill with a word bank, sequencing events, a short written answer and a ‘design your own flying machine’ drawing task.
• KS2 reading text (Years 3–6): a two-page biography covering his childhood in Vinci, his mirror writing, his apprenticeship with Verrocchio in Florence, the giant bronze horse, The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa and sfumato, his flying machines and parachute, his scientific studies and his final years in France, with a glossary and a ‘Think about it’ discussion question.
• 12 KS2 VIPERS questions with marks (vocabulary, infer, predict, explain, retrieve and sequence/summarise), clearly labelled so you can target specific reading skills.
• Vocabulary matching activity: apprentice, mirror writing, portrait, fossil, parachute, engineer, invention and scholar.
• Timeline cut-and-stick: eight event cards and a timeline sheet with the key years of his life.
• One-page knowledge organiser for revision or display.
• Design and write task: ‘A Page from My Inventor’s Notebook’, where pupils invent a machine, draw and label it, then explain how it works.
• Full answer key for every activity.

Why teachers use it:
• It supports the KS2 art and design requirement to learn about great artists, architects and designers in history.
• It links to KS2 design and technology (how key individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world) and KS1 history (significant individuals).
• It covers the KS2 reading domains through VIPERS questions, perfect for guided or whole-class reading.
• Differentiation is built in: KS1 and KS2 versions of the same story mean mixed-age and mixed-ability classes can work on one topic together.
• All text is original, accurate and written for children, with dates checked against reliable sources. Activity pages print well in black and white.

Ideas for using it:
• Use the KS1 text and questions as part of an art topic on famous painters.
• Use the KS2 text across two guided reading sessions, then the VIPERS questions as an independent task.
• Finish with the inventor’s notebook task and display pupils’ inventions beside the knowledge organiser.

Looking for a taster first? Download the free Leonardo da Vinci Knowledge Organiser from my shop.