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 3 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: And that is why the goat always looks before he leaps., Once there was a boy who had never seen the sea., Once upon a time, there lived a poor miller., And they lived happily ever after., One cold morning, a little goat set out over the hill., 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: There was once a farmer who grew the biggest turnip ever., Long, long ago, the animals could all talk., Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village., And the farmer and his family ate turnip soup for a year., The old woman and her cat never went hungry again., At last the boy was home, and he slept soundly.

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., In a cottage by the woods lived an old woman and her cat., From then on, the village was a happy place., Many years ago, a king had three daughters., There was once a fox who was always hungry., From that day on, the fox never tricked anyone again.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Beginnings and Endings

Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. 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. Once there was a boy who had never seen the sea. — 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. So the king and his daughters were happy at last. — Ends a tale
2.1. And the farmer and his family ate turnip soup for a year. — Ends a tale 2. At last the boy was home, and he slept soundly. — Ends a tale 3. Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village. — Begins a tale 4. Long, long ago, the animals could all talk. — Begins 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
3.1. And so the animals learned to share, and the story ends. — Ends a tale 2. From that day on, the fox never tricked anyone again. — Ends a tale 3. From then on, the village was a happy place. — 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. 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.