Beginnings and Endings is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on sorting lines into those that open a tale and those that close it, aligned to Common Core standard RL.2.5. It prints 3 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 19 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

One paper per student

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Beginnings and Endings

RL.2.5

NameDate

Sort each line into the right column.

1.Sort each one: Begins a tale or Ends a tale?

Sort: In a cottage by the woods lived an old woman and her cat., And so the animals learned to share, and the story ends., So the king and his daughters were happy at last., Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village., Many years ago, a king had three daughters., And they lived happily ever after.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

2.Sort each one: Begins a tale or Ends a tale?

Sort: Once upon a time, there lived a poor miller., One cold morning, a little goat set out over the hill., Deep in the forest lived a bear who could not sleep., And the farmer and his family ate turnip soup for a year., The bear curled up and slept all winter long. The end., And that is why the goat always looks before he leaps.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

3.Sort each one: Begins a tale or Ends a tale?

Sort: At last the boy was home, and he slept soundly., From that day on, the fox never tricked anyone again., Once there was a boy who had never seen the sea., The old woman and her cat never went hungry again., There was once a farmer who grew the biggest turnip ever., There was once a fox who was always hungry.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 19 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Beginnings and Endings

Set 19. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. And so the animals learned to share, and the story ends. — Ends a tale 2. And they lived happily ever after. — Ends a tale 3. In a cottage by the woods lived an old woman and her cat. — Begins a tale 4. Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village. — Begins a tale 5. Many years ago, a king had three daughters. — Begins a tale 6. So the king and his daughters were happy at last. — Ends a tale
2.1. And that is why the goat always looks before he leaps. — Ends a tale 2. And the farmer and his family ate turnip soup for a year. — Ends a tale 3. Deep in the forest lived a bear who could not sleep. — Begins a tale 4. Once upon a time, there lived a poor miller. — Begins a tale 5. One cold morning, a little goat set out over the hill. — Begins a tale 6. The bear curled up and slept all winter long. The end. — Ends a tale
3.1. At last the boy was home, and he slept soundly. — Ends a tale 2. From that day on, the fox never tricked anyone again. — Ends a tale 3. Once there was a boy who had never seen the sea. — Begins a tale 4. The old woman and her cat never went hungry again. — Ends a tale 5. There was once a farmer who grew the biggest turnip ever. — Begins a tale 6. There was once a fox who was always hungry. — Begins a tale

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.2.5 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.