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Child Development & Early Education vocabulary · Play and Learning

Adult-led activity

Meaning in child development & early education, with examples

nounCommon term

In child development & early education, adult-led activity means: An activity that an adult plans and leads with a clear learning purpose, such as a cooking session, a story or a small-group counting game.

In Turkish: yetişkin yönlendirmeli etkinlik, öğretmen liderliğinde etkinlik

How it is used

Used in planning and reflection, usually next to child-initiated play. In the early years, adult-led activities are often short and done in small groups. Adult-guided describes activities that adults set up but children can shape.

Example sentences

  1. Our adult-led activity this week is planting beans with small groups.

  2. The planning sheet shows one adult-led activity and three free-choice areas.

Common collocations

  • adult-led learning
  • adult-guided activity
  • small-group activity
  • plan an activity
  • child-initiated playPlay that a child chooses and leads, deciding what to play with, how and for how long, while adults watch and support only when needed.
  • learning through playAn approach to early education in which children learn skills and ideas mainly by playing, exploring and experimenting, with adults supporting them.
  • circle timeA short group session when children sit together, usually in a circle, to talk, sing, share news or play games led by an adult.
  • next stepsThe learning goals and activities planned for a child after an observation, based on their interests and what they seem ready to learn next.

More terms: Play and Learning

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