How a Story Opens is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on what the beginning of a story sets up, aligned to Common Core standard RL.2.5. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
The hill has gone. The wood has gone.
The postbox stands in a cloud, alone.
No sheep, no gate, no crooked tree —
only the ten short steps I see.
I walk. The ten steps walk with me.
The gate appears. And then the tree.
The hill comes back. The wood comes back.
The fog rolls off along the track.
1. How many verses does this poem have?
2. How is the last verse the opposite of the first?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
The Lion and the Mouse
A lion lay sleeping in the sun. A mouse ran across his paw and woke him.
The lion caught the mouse in one hand. "Please let me go," said the mouse. "One day I may help you."
The lion laughed. How could a mouse help a lion? But he opened his hand.
Weeks later the lion walked into a hunter's net. He roared and pulled, and the ropes only tightened.
The mouse heard him. She came at once and gnawed the ropes, one strand at a time, until the lion could step free.
1. How does the beginning introduce the story?
2. How does the ending conclude the action?
LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — How a Story Opens
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Four verses. 2. The first says the hill and wood have gone; the last says they come back.
2.1. It shows the lion asleep and the mouse waking him, which sets up the promise. 2. The mouse keeps her promise and the lion steps free.
Questions about How a Story Opens
What does the How a Story Opens worksheet cover?
It practises what the beginning of a story sets up — 2 questions for Grade 2, all on Common Core RL.2.5: Describe how a story opens and how it closes. The instruction to pupils is “Read the story, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does How a Story Opens practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5 — RL.2.5, in the Reading: Literature domain for Grade 2. The published standard reads: “Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
How a Story Opens is written for Grade 2, typically ages 7-8. It is one of the sheets on RL.2.5, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does How a Story Opens come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of How a Story Opens can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is How a Story Opens free to print and photocopy?
Yes. How a Story Opens, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach RL.2.5?
Yes — “How a Story Begins and Ends” is a 40-minute Grade 2 plan for RL.2.5, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. How a Story Opens is the practice that follows it.
More practice for RL.2.5
Describe how a story opens and how it closes.
Teaching this next? How a Story Begins and Ends is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.