First graders learned a new game today called Chunks.  In the game, students select tiles that contain commonly found onsets (beginnings) and rimes (endings) to try to build words.  Selecting and trading tiles, students begin to recognize patterns that are common to many words, that contain the same letters, and that make the same sounds.  As in the name of the game, Chunks, students are asked to “chunk” words, breaking them down into their parts, when they read.  The different color tiles also highlight phonetic patterns including beginning and ending blends and digraphs.