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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 15 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.

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?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

The Kite in the Elm

Sami's kite caught in the top of the elm on the very first day. He tried throwing a ball at it. He tried a long stick. He tried shaking the trunk with both arms. The kite stayed exactly where it was. His sister Rana came out with a bucket and a length of washing line. She tied the line to the bucket handle, threw the bucket over the branch, and pulled. The branch bent. The kite slid off and dropped into the grass. "How did you know that would work?" said Sami. "I didn't," said Rana.

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

LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How a Story Opens

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. 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.
  2. 2.1. The kite gets caught on the very first day, so the whole story is about getting it back. 2. The kite is down and Rana admits she did not know it would work.

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.