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What the Challenge Was is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on linking a character's action to the problem they faced, aligned to Common Core standard RL.2.3. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 24 of them with 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. 24 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.

What the Challenge Was

RL.2.3

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. 1. Why did Tess stop asking?
  2. 2. How does Tess respond when Grandad says no?
  3. 3. What does Grandad do instead of just refusing?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

Fog Morning

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. 1. What is the speaker doing in this poem?
  2. 2. Is the speaker lost? How do you know?

LessonPrint · RL.2.3 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What the Challenge Was

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Because watching the starfish move showed her it belonged in the pool. 2. She crouches and watches the starfish for a long time instead of arguing. 3. He gives a reason and tells her to look at it where it is.
  2. 2.1. Walking along a track in thick fog. 2. No — they keep walking and the gate and tree appear where they should.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.2.3 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.