Year 1 English: The beginning, the middle and the end
Part of the Year 1 English stories and fairy tales chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
The beginning, the middle and the end
Most stories have three parts. The beginning tells us who the story is about, and what is happening at first. The middle is where something happens, like a problem. The end tells us how the story finishes.
Read The Lost Ball. Then look at the three pictures. They show the beginning, the middle and the end.
The Lost Ball
Tom has a red ball. He plays with it in the garden.
Jess, his dog, runs and jumps after the ball.
One day, Tom kicks the ball hard. It rolls under the gate!
Tom looks under the big bush. The ball is not there.
He looks by the tree. The ball is not there.
He looks in the shed. Still no ball!
Then Jess runs to the long grass. She sniffs and sniffs. She finds something red.
It is the ball! Jess picks it up in her mouth.
“Good girl, Jess!” says Tom. He pats her head.
Now they can play again.
Key ideas
- The beginning tells us who the story is about.
- The middle is where a problem or a surprise happens.
- The end tells us how the story finishes.
- Words like first, then and at the end help us put a story in order.
Method. The beginning tells us who the story is about, and what is happening at first.
- Read the first lines. The first two lines tell us about Tom and his ball.Tom has a red ball. He plays with it in the garden.
- Check the next lines. The middle starts when something goes wrong, so the beginning stops before that.One day, Tom kicks the ball hard.
- Write the answer. The beginning is about Tom and his ball, in the garden.Tom plays with his red ball in the garden.
Check. Read it aloud. It tells us who and where at the start. ✓
Watch out. The beginning does not tell how the story finishes.
Method. The middle is where a problem happens. The problem is not yet solved.
- Read the sentence. It tells us what Tom does next.“He looks in the shed. Still no ball!”
- Check if the problem is solved. Tom still cannot find the ball, so the problem is not yet solved.Still no ball!
- Write the answer. A problem that is not solved yet is in the middle.The middle
Check. The end is when the ball is found, so this sentence is not the end. ✓
Watch out. The end is when the problem is solved. Not while it is still a problem.
Method. Find the first event, then the next, then the last. Put them in that order.
- Find the first event. Tom has the ball at the start.Tom has a red ball.
- Find the next event. Tom looks under the bush after the ball is lost.He looks under the big bush.
- Find the last event. The ball is found at the end.It is the ball!
- Write the order. The first, then the next, then the last.Tom has a red ball. / He looks under the big bush. / It is the ball!
Check. Read them in your order. Does the story make sense? ✓
Watch out. Put the events in the order they happen, not the order that they are written on a list.
Watch out
Watch out: the end is not the first part of the story. A story often ends when the problem is solved.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Read a short story together. Ask: “What happened first? What was the problem? How did it end?” Then let your child retell the story using first, then and at the end.
Exercise 8B The beginning, the middle and the end
Method. Look back at the story and find the words that answer the question.
- Find the clue in the story. The answer is in the box, or we can work it out from it.“He plays with it in the garden.”
- Think about what the clue tells us. The sentence tells us where Tom plays with the ball.
- Write the answer. Answer with a short sentence or the word from the story.in the garden
Check. Also accept: the garden. Read your answer back to the story. It fits the clue. ✓
Watch out. The answer is in the story. Do not guess from what you think might happen.
Method. Look back at the story and find the words that answer the question.
- Find the clue in the story. The answer is in the box, or we can work it out from it.“It rolls under the gate!”
- Think about what the clue tells us. The ball goes under the gate, so the gate is where it goes.
- Write the answer. Answer with a short sentence or the word from the story.the gate
Check. Also accept: a gate; the garden gate. Read your answer back to the story. It fits the clue. ✓
Watch out. The answer is in the story. Do not guess from what you think might happen.
Method. Look back at the story and find the words that answer the question.
- Find the clue in the story. The answer is in the box, or we can work it out from it.“Tom looks under the big bush.”
- Think about what the clue tells us. This is the first place that Tom looks for the ball.
- Write the answer. Answer with a short sentence or the word from the story.under the big bush
Check. Also accept: under the bush; the big bush. Read your answer back to the story. It fits the clue. ✓
Watch out. The answer is in the story. Do not guess from what you think might happen.
Method. Look back at the story and find the words that answer the question.
- Find the clue in the story. The answer is in the box, or we can work it out from it.“She finds something red.”
- Think about what the clue tells us. Jess is the dog. She is the one who finds the red thing.
- Write the answer. Answer with a short sentence or the word from the story.Jess
Check. Also accept: Jess the dog; the dog. Read your answer back to the story. It fits the clue. ✓
Watch out. The answer is in the story. Do not guess from what you think might happen.
Method. Put the events in the order they happen, from the start of the story to the end.
- Find the first thing that happens. Read the story from the start.Tom kicks the ball
- Find the next thing. Each part comes after the one before it.He looks by the tree
- Find the last thing. It happens after the others.She finds something red
- Write the events in order. These are the events in the order they happen in the story.Tom kicks the ball / He looks by the tree / She finds something red
Check. Read the events in your order. Does the story go the same way? ✓
Watch out. Look for the words that show time: first, next, then, after that, and at the end.
Method. Use the picture to find the answer. The words in the story can help you check it.
- Look at the picture. Find the thing the question asks about.The three pictures are labelled beginning, middle and end.
- Check the words in the story. The middle is when the ball rolls under the gate, and Tom looks for it.
- Write the answer. Use the picture and the story together.the middle picture
Check. Also accept: the one labelled middle; the picture with the gate. Point at the picture as you say the answer. ✓
Watch out. Look at the whole picture first. Then find the thing the question asks about.
Method. Look back at the story and find the words that answer the question.
- Find the clue in the story. The answer is in the box, or we can work it out from it.“Tom looks under the big bush.”
- Think about what the clue tells us. The ball was lost, so Tom looked in places where it might be.
- Write the answer. Answer with a short sentence or the word from the story.to find the ball
Check. Also accept: to look for his ball; because the ball was not there. Read your answer back to the story. It fits the clue. ✓
Watch out. The answer is in the story. Do not guess from what you think might happen.
Method. Find one sentence for each part of the story.
- Find the beginning. It tells us who the story is about and what is happening at first.Tom has a red ball.
- Find the middle. It is where a problem happens, and the ball is lost.The ball is not there.
- Find the end. It tells us how the story finishes.It is the ball!
- Write one sentence for each part. Put the three parts in order.Beginning: Tom has a red ball. Middle: Tom looks for the ball. End: Jess finds the ball.
Check. Read them in order: beginning, middle, end. Each part is short and clear. ✓
Watch out. Keep each part short. The middle can be a problem, such as a lost ball.
Method. Each part of a story has a job. Find the part that tells us how the story finishes.
- Read the three choices. Each choice is a part of a story.beginning, middle, end
- Think about each job. The beginning starts the story. The middle has the problem. The end finishes the story.the end = how it finishes
- Write the answer. The part that tells how the story finishes is the end.end
Check. Read the story: the ball is found, and they play again. That is the end. ✓
Watch out. The end is not the problem. It is how the story finishes.
Method. Put the events in the order they would happen in a new story about a cat.
- Find the first thing. A story starts with the cat being hungry.The cat is hungry.
- Find the next thing. Then the cat finds something to eat.The cat finds a bowl of milk.
- Find the last thing. At the end, the cat is full and sleeps.The cat falls asleep by the fire.
- Write the order. The events go from the start to the end.The cat is hungry / The cat finds a bowl of milk / The cat falls asleep by the fire.
Check. Read them in order. Does the story make sense? ✓
Watch out. Look for the words first, next, then and at the end to help you.
Method. Think of a story you know. Find its beginning, middle and end.
- Think of the beginning. Say who the story is about, and what is happening at first.a girl goes for a walk
- Think of the middle. Say what the problem is.the bears come home
- Think of the end. Say how the story finishes.the girl runs away
- Write one sentence for each part. Keep each sentence short.Answers will vary. For example: Goldilocks goes for a walk. The bears come home. Goldilocks runs away.
Check. Read your three sentences in order. Each part comes after the one before it. ✓
Watch out. Any story you know is right, as long as you can name the beginning, middle and end.