Fool your students while teaching them a valuable lesson in information literacy. Invite students in grades 6 -12 to

• visit the DHMO (Dihydrogen Monoxide) home page.
• click the Dihydrogen Monoxide FAQ on the left of the main page to read about the dangers of DHMO.
• take notes on the dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide.
• participate in a discussion on how to publicize this little known threat.

Following the discussion, ask students to provide the more common name for Dihydrogen Monoxide. If no one volunteers, explain to students that the more common name for DMHO is H20 --or plain old water!

Prank Fix
None needed.

Educational Use
This lesson can serve as the introduction to a unit on evaluating Web sites. For more information on media literacy, see the following Education World resources:

• Improving Media Literacy techtorial
• Fact, Fiction, or Opinion? Evaluating Online Information
• Teaching About Web Literacy
• Understanding the Hype: Media Literacy: An Education World e-Interview With Catherine Gourley
• Media Literacy Clearinghouse site review

Next: Monster mash!