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 20 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: Deep in the forest lived a bear who could not sleep., And they lived happily ever after., Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village., At last the boy was home, and he slept soundly., Once there was a boy who had never seen the sea., So the king and his daughters were happy at last.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

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

Sort: And the farmer and his family ate turnip soup for a year., Once upon a time, there lived a poor miller., In a cottage by the woods lived an old woman and her cat., From that day on, the fox never tricked anyone again., Many years ago, a king had three daughters., And so the animals learned to share, and the story ends.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

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

Sort: The bear curled up and slept all winter long. The end., There was once a farmer who grew the biggest turnip ever., From then on, the village was a happy place., The old woman and her cat never went hungry again., There was once a fox who was always hungry., Long, long ago, the animals could all talk.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Beginnings and Endings

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

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