Skip to content
LessonPrint

Recount a Folktale is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on retelling a folktale or fable by putting its key events in order, aligned to Common Core standard RL.3.2. 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 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 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next setLesson plan

One paper per student

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

All 25 sets ask different questions.

Recount a Folktale

RL.3.2

NameDate

Number the boxes to show the right order.

1.Number these to retell "The Little Red Hen."
  • She bakes the flour into a loaf of bread.
  • She plants, cuts and grinds the wheat on her own.
  • Little Red Hen finds some grains of wheat.
  • Everyone wants to eat it, but she eats it herself.
  • She asks who will help her plant them, and nobody will.
2.Number these to retell the tale of why Bear has a short tail.
  • Bear sits all night with his tail in the freezing water.
  • Bear asks Fox how he caught so many fish.
  • By morning his tail is frozen into the ice.
  • He pulls hard, and his long tail snaps off short.
  • Fox tells him to put his tail through a hole in the ice.

LessonPrint · RL.3.2 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Recount a Folktale

Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Correct order: 3, 5, 2, 1, 4
  2. 2.Correct order: 2, 5, 1, 3, 4

Questions about Recount a Folktale

What does the Recount a Folktale worksheet cover?

It practices retelling a folktale or fable by putting its key events in order — 2 questions for Grade 3, all on Common Core RL.3.2: Retell a tale, state its message, and show which details carry it. The instruction to students is “Number the boxes to show the right order”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.

Which Common Core standard does Recount a Folktale practice?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2 — RL.3.2, under Reading: Literature for Grade 3. The published standard reads: “Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.

What age or grade is this worksheet for?

Recount a Folktale is written for Grade 3, typically ages 8-9. It is one of the sheets on RL.3.2, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.

Does Recount a Folktale come with an answer key?

Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.

How many different versions of Recount a Folktale can I print?

25 — one per student, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.

Is Recount a Folktale free to print and photocopy?

Yes. Recount a Folktale, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.

Is there a lesson plan to teach RL.3.2?

Yes — “The Central Message and How It Is Conveyed” is a 40-minute Grade 3 plan for RL.3.2, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Recount a Folktale is the practice that follows it.

More practice for RL.3.2

Retell a tale, state its message, and show which details carry it.

Teaching this next? The Central Message and How It Is Conveyed is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.3.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.