The lesson repeatedly uses the words 'diverse' and 'diversity' and gives an explicit definition: 'Diverse means to be different' (Activity 2 and Wrapping Up). Students are asked to explain what 'diverse' means and to discuss examples of diversity, and they label/map people on a page titled 'A Diverse People,' using the vocabulary in context.

Students are asked to read the dictionary definition of the word "balance" and then discuss and apply that meaning across related terms such as "balanced diet," "balanced equation," and "balancing sentences." In Activity 1 students explain what a "balanced diet" means and draw a meal that follows the MyPlate guideline, using their understanding of "balance." In Activities 2 and 3 students work with terms like "balancing equations" and "balancing sentences," finding missing parts so the two sides "balance," which requires applying the idea of balance to derived word forms.

Students are introduced to the morpheme 'lad' in Activity 6 when they are told that 'Cinderlad' contains 'lad' and that 'lad' means 'boy,' which connects the name to the character's gender. Students are also asked in Activity 8 to write spelling words and describe the meaning of each word, giving some opportunity to think about word meanings. The chart and vocabulary-focused questions require students to identify and explain terms like 'hero/heroine,' 'villain,' and 'magical help.'

Students read and spell base words and their related forms (Activity 2.2 asks students to read and use hear and heard and to make sentences showing present vs. past meaning). In Activity 5.2 students cut apart and recombine word parts to make two-syllable words (examples given: earthquake = earth + quake; birthday, vampire, earring, airplane, storeroom). Word-building activities ask students to spell words from given letter cards and to assemble words from parts, showing attention to base words and word parts.

Students are asked to identify and name the base action word in sentences (Activity 2.1) — for example, recognizing that clap is the base for clapped, clap, and clapping and sorting sentences by tense. Students highlight or underline action words and then write the correct base words for inflected forms on the "Base Words" page (e.g., wrapping → wrap, cleaning → clean). Students match -ing and -ed forms to their base words in multiple activities (Sorting ing Words, Sorting ed Words, and the ING and ED Word Search), using the known base to recognize the meaning and tense of the derived form.

Students match base describing words with their -er and -est forms in Activities 2.2 and 3.2 (e.g., matching "hot" with "hotter"/"hottest") and read the pairs aloud. In Activity 4.1 students fill in missing base, -er, and -est forms on a chart, and in several activities they are asked to explain how the endings change the meaning (comparative vs. superlative). Students also sort words into spelling categories and practice reading derived forms such as "drier"/"driest" and "sillier"/"easiest."

Students repeatedly break compound and multi-part words into known smaller words and use those known parts to read and infer meaning (Activity 1.2: find and cover "light" in flashlight, lighthouse, candlelight and discuss meanings). Students name the two words in compound words (Activity 2.2: him/self, an/other, gold/fish) and are asked to cover affixes (Activity 2.1: cover "ful" to read "color") to recognize the familiar base. The wrap-up asks students to generate lists of words that begin or end with a common base (e.g., "some," "self," "out"), practicing using a known word part to identify and form other words.

The lesson asks students to break the compound word goldfish into its two component words and to identify what two words make up the compound (gold and fish). Students are also prompted to define unfamiliar words as needed and to use component parts of words (e.g., clapping syllables, dividing syllables) when reading, which encourages attention to smaller meaningful units in words.

Students divide words into base parts and endings (e.g., underlining "care" in "careful" and noting that "ful" is an ending). Students identify compound base words (e.g., asking what two words make up "lifeboat"). Students build words from known word parts and read the resulting words (Activity 2.2 uses parts like rep + tile to make "reptile," mis + take to make "mistake"). The sorting and explicit reminder state that if the silent e is in the first syllable, students should look for compound words or words with endings.

Students are taught to identify and break apart multisyllabic words by looking for compound words (e.g., asking students to split "gingerbread" into "ginger" and "bread") and by covering endings (es, ed, ing, er, est) to reveal the base. The lesson instructs students to use division rules and to recognize when a base changes (e.g., y to i) before adding an ending. Activities require students to decode longer words, remove endings to pronounce base forms, and divide words into meaningful parts for reading.

The lesson's Skills list explicitly includes 'Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root.' In Activity 1.2 students lay out base words and suffixes, read each base word, add different suffixes, read the resulting words, and are asked to explain what the new words mean. Activities 2.2 and 5.2 have students match suffixes to meanings and choose the best meaning for derived words (e.g., thirsty, meaningful, speedy), and students add endings to base words and read them aloud.

Students cut out base-word cards (view, do, like, read, trust, tie, use, wash) and add prefixes to form new words, then read the new words aloud and discuss which prefixes work. Students practice covering the prefix in the sight word "remember" (covering re) so they read the base portion and then add the prefix back to interpret the full word. Multiple activities (Prefix Meanings, Word Meaning selection, Adding Prefixes) ask students to choose a prefix, form a new word, and write or select the best meaning for that prefixed word. The lesson's Skills list explicitly states "Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root."

The lesson has students cover the suffix -ent in the sight word "different," read the base form "differ," then add the suffix and use the whole word in a sentence (Activity 1.3). The skills list explicitly includes "Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes," and students practice breaking words into parts when decoding two-syllable and affixed words. Students also use context clues to determine word meanings in Activity 4.1, which complements word-part strategies.

Activity 4.3 has students cut out prefixes, suffixes, and base words and keep them in separate piles. Students are asked to tell the meanings of each prefix and suffix and then to use the cards to build words that include a base (e.g., like → likable, dislike). After building words, students record, pronounce, and are asked what each word means.