I just played Monkey in the middle with 5th and 6th graders using the cards in the textbook - each student should take about 5 cards for whatever chapter you are reviewing (it needs to be at least half of the cards that they have) and then make a circle with chairs, one for each student. Number the students for two teams and tell them that they have to remember which team they are on. Place five marks on the board for each team (This is a counting down game) Remove one chair. Then use the vocabulary that you are practicing. For instance, Grade 5 just finished "What a Tall Tower" Tell them to all to quickly sit down and 1 student will be left standing. I told the student "Look over there" and she picked one of her cards in her hand and said "It's a beautiful bird" All of the students who had that card had to get up and change seats. The last one standing is the next monkey in the middle and a point is removed from that teams score. If two students try to sit on the same chair play "Rock paper scissors" Depending on the size of your class you could have two students in the middle and then everyone has to listen for two different cards. The first team to lose all their point, loses the game. My students could play this all afternoon if I would let them.
