Introduction
William Adelin was the only male heir to the throne of his father, King Henry I. On a journey back from France in 1120, William was lost at sea, throwing the country into turmoil.
IN 1120, when William Adelin* was sixteen, his father King Henry I took him across the Channel to be married to Matilda of Anjou, daughter of a powerful rival in northern France.
After the wedding, Henry went on ahead, leaving his son to sail home in the White Ship, the newest and fastest vessel in the royal fleet. When they finally sailed, night was closing in and the crew were in high spirits. They thought it would be fun to overtake the King, but the helmsman steered into a rock in the dark. The ship sank almost immediately. Of three hundred passengers, only one made it ashore. William himself swam back to rescue his young half-sister, Matilda FitzRoy, and was drowned with her.
Henry was heartbroken, and after he died in 1135 England was plunged into a succession crisis which was not resolved until his daughter’s son Henry II inherited the crown in 1154.
‘Adelin’ is a later version of the Anglo-Saxon word Ætheling, meaning ‘prince’.
Précis
After his marriage to Matilda of Anjou in Normandy, the young Prince William set off back to England in the brand new White Ship. Tragically, the over-excited crew steered the ship onto the rocks. William died trying to rescue his half-sister, and only one other passenger survived to tell the tale. (51 / 60 words)
After his marriage to Matilda of Anjou in Normandy, the young Prince William set off back to England in the brand new White Ship. Tragically, the over-excited crew steered the ship onto the rocks. William died trying to rescue his half-sister, and only one other passenger survived to tell the tale.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 45 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, may, not, otherwise, since, unless, whether, who.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Hundred. Into. Three.
2 Almost. Swim. White.
3 One. Think. Until.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Left. 2. Fast. 3. Sink. 4. Fleet. 5. Rock. 6. Close.
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Higher. 2 Left. 3 New. 4 Fun. 5 Rival. 6 Powerless. 7 Immediate. 8 Royal. 9 Young.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
gts (6+3)
gaits. gates. gets. gits. goats. guts.
agates. gites. goatees.
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