Student Research Page

Honor Roll

TPW Magazine, March 2010

If you don't have a copy of the TPW magazine, you may print a copy of Honor Roll: Texas Symbols (pdf).

A symbol is something picked out to represent other things -- a group, a story, a feeling, a moment in history or characteristic.

Would a school mascot or the name of a football team be a symbol? What about jewelry, stickers or a tattoo? A company logo? Take a trip down the halls of your school or look through magazines, on the web or on television. What symbols can you find? Does the symbol influence how you feel about what it represents?

Look at the Texas horned lizard on the cover of Keep Texas Wild. Write down 10 adjectives (describing words) about what you see. Include words that describe things that you don't see, such as feelings. Is the horned lizard a good symbol for reptiles? Why or why not?

Did you notice that our Keep Texas Wild logo and mascot is Spike, a Texas horned lizard? You see him in different poses in the magazine and on our web kids' page. We chose a horned lizard for several reasons. Many adults remember growing up in Texas and seeing horned lizards when they went out to play. The legislature chose the horned lizard as a state symbol. The Texas horned lizard is now a threatened species in Texas. This means that the number of Texas horned lizards left in the wild is very low and we need to take special action to make sure it doesn't become so rare that all the Texas horned lizards might die off or leave Texas. Is Spike a good symbol for Keep Texas Wild?