Classroom Resources

Donkeys Can’t Fly on Planes

Learning about migration through stories by children

These classroom resources focus on Donkeys Can’t Fly on Planes, which was first published by Kids’ Own Publishing in 2012. The stories in Donkeys are from children with a South Sudanese refugee background who came to live in Australia in the early 2000s and were students at the Liddiard Road Primary School in Traralgon, Victoria. After Donkeys was published, parents and adults in the community told their stories, for children, in In My Kingdom (2014) and All the Way Home (2015).

The resources draw on all three books to bring Australian migration and refugee history alive through the voices of some children and adults who have lived it first-hand. The materials below include videos, audio, classroom activities and addtional information for teachers and students to support children’s stories being used as primary sources to discuss and learn about recent histories of immigration.

Foundation to Year 2

Years 3 to 4

Years 5 to 6