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 23 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: The old woman and her cat never went hungry again., And the farmer and his family ate turnip soup for a year., There was once a farmer who grew the biggest turnip ever., One cold morning, a little goat set out over the hill., Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village., 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: In a cottage by the woods lived an old woman and her cat., Deep in the forest lived a bear who could not sleep., From then on, the village was a happy place., And that is why the goat always looks before he leaps., Long, long ago, the animals could all talk., And they lived happily ever after.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

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

Sort: And so the animals learned to share, and the story ends., Once there was a boy who had never seen the sea., The bear curled up and slept all winter long. The end., There was once a fox who was always hungry., At last the boy was home, and he slept soundly., Many years ago, a king had three daughters.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Beginnings and Endings

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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