Reading a Grade 2 Story is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on reading a whole Grade 2 story and answering across it, aligned to Common Core standard RL.2.10. 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 6 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

One paper per pupil

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.

Reading a Grade 2 Story

RL.2.10

NameDate

Read the story, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

What the Tide Left

Every low tide, Grandad and Tess walked out to the rock pools. Tess wanted to take a starfish home. Grandad said no. "It would die in a bucket," he said. "Look at it here instead." Tess crouched for a long time. She saw the starfish move — slowly, on hundreds of tiny feet she had not known it had. She did not ask again. On the way back she said, "It's better in the pool anyway."

1. How does Tess respond when Grandad says no?
2. What did Tess see the starfish do?
3. What does this story show about wild creatures?
4. How does the ending conclude the action?

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. What trapped the lion later?
2. How did the mouse wake the lion?
3. How does the lion respond when the mouse asks to be let go?
4. How does the ending conclude the action?

LessonPrint · RL.2.10 · Set 6 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Reading a Grade 2 Story

Set 6. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. She crouches and watches the starfish for a long time instead of arguing. 2. Move slowly on hundreds of tiny feet. 3. Something is often better watched where it lives than taken away. 4. Tess says the starfish is better in the pool, so she has changed her own mind.
2.1. A hunter's net. 2. She ran across his paw. 3. He laughs at the idea, but he opens his hand anyway. 4. The mouse keeps her promise and the lion steps free.

More practice for RL.2.10

Read and understand stories and poems at the Grade 2-3 level by the year's end.

Teaching this next? Reading Grade 2 Stories and Poetry is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 2 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.2.10 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.