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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 14 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

How a Story Opens

RL.2.5

NameDate

Read the story, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

Rain on the Roof

Rain on the roof, rain on the road, rain on the back of a slow brown toad. Rain on the window, rain on the pane, rain on the roses, rain, rain, rain. Rain in the gutter, rain in the drain, rain till the puddle is deep as a lane. Rain on the roof, rain on the road — and out comes the sun for the slow brown toad.

  1. 1. How does the last verse change from the first?
  2. 2. How many verses does this poem have?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

The Crow and the Pitcher

A crow had flown for hours without finding water. At last she saw a pitcher standing in a garden. She landed on the rim and looked in. There was water at the bottom, but the neck was narrow and her beak could not reach it. She pushed the pitcher. It was too heavy to tip. Then the crow noticed the pebbles on the path. She picked one up and dropped it in. Then another. Then another. Each pebble pushed the water a little higher. After forty pebbles, the water reached the top. The crow drank until she had had enough.

  1. 1. How does the beginning of this story set up the problem?
  2. 2. How does the ending conclude the action?

LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How a Story Opens

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It repeats the first line, then the sun comes out instead of more rain. 2. Four verses.
  2. 2.1. It says the crow had flown for hours without water, so finding the pitcher matters. 2. The water reaches the top and the crow drinks until she has had enough.

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.

All Grade 2 worksheets

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