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 24 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: Long, long ago, the animals could all talk., Once there was a boy who had never seen the sea., Once upon a time, there lived a poor miller., And so the animals learned to share, and the story ends., The bear curled up and slept all winter long. The end., At last the boy was home, and he slept soundly.

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., Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village., From that day on, the fox never tricked anyone again., In a cottage by the woods lived an old woman and her cat., There was once a farmer who grew the biggest turnip ever., And they lived happily ever after.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

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

Sort: There was once a fox who was always hungry., And that is why the goat always looks before he leaps., Many years ago, a king had three daughters., One cold morning, a little goat set out over the hill., So the king and his daughters were happy at last., From then on, the village was a happy place.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Beginnings and Endings

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. 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. Long, long ago, the animals could all talk. — 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 bear curled up and slept all winter long. The end. — Ends a tale
2.1. And the farmer and his family ate turnip soup for a year. — Ends a tale 2. And they lived happily ever after. — 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. Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village. — Begins a tale 6. There was once a farmer who grew the biggest turnip ever. — 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. Many years ago, a king had three daughters. — Begins a tale 4. One cold morning, a little goat set out over the hill. — Begins a tale 5. So the king and his daughters were happy at last. — 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.