Animal Crossing Geography Class: Build Your Island and Learn!

In this ongoing class, we will learn about geography in a fun and interactive way. Using Animal Crossing as a guide, we’ll tackle many important topics related to geography. The teacher will also play the game in class, providing tips, bells and other resources for fellow players. We'll build our islands and learn practical skills along the way.

Each unit is six weeks long and covers a different geography topic at length, using the game as a teaching tool. We will learn about map reading, landforms, erosion, bodies of water, terrains, fossils and rocks, sustainability, resources, trade, technology, globalization and more. The goal of this class is to use the learner's passion for video games to teach them about geography. Students are not required to own a Nintendo Switch.

The structure of class will be similar each week. We will start with a warm up question, and then dive into a mini lecture with a follow-up discussion. From there, we will go back and forth between live game play and the lesson, using the game to help us learn about geography. Students are not required to own a Nintendo Switch.

Every class will use a variety of teaching methods to engage every type of learner. Classes will include live game play, experiments, real-world examples, quizzes, games, worksheets and more. Learners will be challenged to question what they know and draw connections between the game and the real world.  


🌼 What is taught in this course? 🌼

Tropical Environments
Week beginning 6/1/25: What are tropics?
Week beginning 13/1/25: Insects in the tropics
Week beginning 20/1/25: Animals in the tropics
Week beginning 27/1/25: Homes in the tropics
Week beginning 3/2/25: Tropical Storms
Week beginning 10/2/25: Winter in the tropics

Developmental Geography
Week beginning 17/2/25: What is developmental geography?
Week beginning 24/2/25: Social development
Week beginning 3/3/25: Economic development
Week beginning 10/3/25: Environmental development
Week beginning 17/3/25: How geographers measure happiness
Week beginning 24/3/25: How towns and cities are built

Places Big and Small
Week beginning 31/3/25: Villages, towns and cities
Week beginning 7/4/25: Shops and markets
Week beginning 14/4/25: Castles and architecture
Week beginning 21/4/25: Farms and factories 
Week beginning 28/4/25: Shrines and churches around the world
Week beginning 5/5/25: Homes around the world

Globalization 
Week beginning 12/5/25: The journey of our clothes
Week beginning 19/5/25: Travel and transport around the world
Week beginning 26/5/25: Food and cultural dishes
Week beginning 2/6/25: Languages of the world
Week beginning 9/6/25: Gaming and the global economy
Week beginning 16/6/25: The lifecycle of a gaming console

Map Reading and Physical Geography
Week beginning 23/6/25: How to read a map
Week beginning 30/6/25: All about landforms 
Week beginning 7/7/25: All about bodies of water
Week beginning 14/7/25: How islands are formed
Week beginning 21/7/25: Southern vs. Northern Hemisphere 
Week beginning 28/7/25: What are tectonic plates?


Further topics to be added.


🌼 About My Qualifications 🌼
I have been a teacher and tutor for over 7 years, and I've taught STEM topics for more than 3 years. I also trained at the NASA Glenn Research center, where real engineers taught me the best principles for teaching STEM to young students. If you'd like to learn more about me and my qualifications, please feel free to visit my profile. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have! 

Let’s get learning!