Part One of Four. 
Are you a teenage mutant ninja turtle fan? Do you love protecting New York city and training with Splinter? Do you love pizza? I do too. But who were these turtles named after? We all know Leo, Mikey, Donnie, and Ralph but do you remember their full names? Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael? Our turtle heroes are named after renaissance heroes. Are you ready to learn more about the men our heroes are named after? Let's see if they share any similarities other than the name?

Using lecture and discussion students will learn about the Ninja Turtle Leonardo and the Renaissance hero he was named after. Students will see artwork by Leonardo da Vinci, learn from first-hand accounts about the artist, discuss personality similarities and differences while seeing works of art from this historic period of time. 

I try to make history come alive using visual images and discussion. If students can find a connection they are passionate about we can learn together. I encourage students to teach me about our turtle friends while I teach them about artists. Together we find similarities between them.