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 students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 3 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
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 students 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.
The Bread That Would Not Rise
Nana let Ada make the bread on her own for the first time.
Ada measured the flour, the salt and the water. She kneaded the dough until her arms ached. Then she covered the bowl and waited.
An hour later the dough sat in the bowl exactly as she had left it. It had not risen at all.
Nana looked at the packet on the shelf. "You used the salt twice," she said. "There is no yeast in it."
Ada wanted to throw the bowl across the kitchen. Instead she washed it out and started again.
1. Why did Nana look at the packet on the shelf?
2. What does starting again tell you about Ada?
3. How does Ada respond to her mistake?
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. Why did throwing the bucket over the branch work?
2. How does Sami respond to the kite being stuck?
3. What does Rana's last line tell you about her?
LessonPrint · RL.2.3 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — What the Challenge Was
Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. To work out what had gone wrong with the dough. 2. She is determined — she washed the bowl out and started the bread again instead of throwing it. 3. She is furious, but she starts again instead of giving up.
2.1. The weight of the bucket on the line bent the branch, so the kite slid off. 2. He tries three different things one after another. 3. She is honest — she admits she was not sure it would work.
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.2.3 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.