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 22 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: Many years ago, a king had three daughters., And the farmer and his family ate turnip soup for a year., And they lived happily ever after., Long, long ago, the animals could all talk., And so the animals learned to share, and the story ends., Deep in the forest lived a bear who could not sleep.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

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

Sort: The bear curled up and slept all winter long. The end., One cold morning, a little goat set out over the hill., At last the boy was home, and he slept soundly., There was once a fox who was always hungry., Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village., From that day on, the fox never tricked anyone again.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

3.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 that is why the goat always looks before he leaps., Once there was a boy who had never seen the sea., From then on, the village was a happy place., Once upon a time, there lived a poor miller., The old woman and her cat never went hungry again.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 22 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Beginnings and Endings

Set 22. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. 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. And they lived happily ever after. — Ends a tale 4. Deep in the forest lived a bear who could not sleep. — Begins a tale 5. Long, long ago, the animals could all talk. — Begins a tale 6. Many years ago, a king had three daughters. — Begins a tale
2.1. 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. Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village. — Begins a tale 4. One cold morning, a little goat set out over the hill. — Begins a tale 5. The bear curled up and slept all winter long. The end. — Ends a tale 6. There was once a fox who was always hungry. — Begins a tale
3.1. And that is why the goat always looks before he leaps. — Ends a tale 2. From then on, the village was a happy place. — Ends a tale 3. In a cottage by the woods lived an old woman and her cat. — Begins a tale 4. Once there was a boy who had never seen the sea. — Begins a tale 5. Once upon a time, there lived a poor miller. — Begins a tale 6. The old woman and her cat never went hungry again. — Ends a tale

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