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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 21 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 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. 1. How does the beginning introduce the story?
  2. 2. How does the ending conclude the action?

LessonPrint · RL.2.5 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How a Story Opens

Set 21. 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 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.

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.