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 4 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 upon a time, there lived a poor miller., In a cottage by the woods lived an old woman and her cat., And they lived happily ever after., The bear curled up and slept all winter long. The end., Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

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

Sort: And so the animals learned to share, and the story ends., There was once a farmer who grew the biggest turnip ever., So the king and his daughters were happy at last., One cold morning, a little goat set out over the hill., There was once a fox who was always hungry., 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: From that day on, the fox never tricked anyone again., Many years ago, a king had three daughters., From then on, the village was a happy place., And the farmer and his family ate turnip soup for a year., Deep in the forest lived a bear who could not sleep., Long, long ago, the animals could all talk.

Begins a taleEnds a tale

LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Beginnings and Endings

Set 4. 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. In a cottage by the woods lived an old woman and her cat. — Begins a tale 4. Long ago, in a land far away, there was a tiny village. — 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 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. 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. 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
3.1. And the farmer and his family ate turnip soup for a year. — Ends a tale 2. Deep in the forest lived a bear who could not sleep. — Begins a tale 3. From that day on, the fox never tricked anyone again. — Ends a tale 4. From then on, the village was a happy place. — Ends 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

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