The Fishing for Favorites Toolbox is an engaging, hands-on craft activity designed for ESL newcomers, young learners, and elementary students. This interactive project allows students to share and display their favorite nouns—like foods, animals, drinks, and places—while practicing new vocabulary in a fun and meaningful way. Teachers can use it as a bulletin board display to showcase student favorites or as a notebook insert students can keep and revisit throughout the year.
Perfect for back-to-school activities, icebreakers, or vocabulary building lessons, this project encourages both speaking and writing. Depending on ability level, students can draw pictures, write single-word answers, or form short sentences, making it easy to differentiate for a variety of skill levels. At the end of the lesson, students can also take their finished “toolbox” home as a keepsake, making the activity both practical and memorable.
What’s Included
- Favorite food, drink, animal, and place “fish” templates
- Fishing for Favorites toolbox with pocket
- Black and white version for easy printing, coloring, and assembling
How to Use
Simply print the black-and-white templates in advance. In class, students can color, cut, and assemble their toolbox while filling in their favorite things. This low-prep craft is excellent for ESL vocabulary practice, classroom icebreakers, and student-centered bulletin boards. Laminate finished toolboxes if you’d like to reuse them for class discussions throughout the year.
Pair It With
Pair this activity with the Back-to-School Find Someone Who Speaking Activity for even more opportunities to get students interacting, asking questions, and building classroom community.
Also available on TpT:
My Favorite Things Craft - Favorite Nouns Bulletin Board for ESL Newcomers