By the time children reach middle school, they already have a well-established relationship with the media. Ignoring the significance of media in the lives of adolescents creates a gap between their in-school and out-of-school worlds. Middle school curricula needs to be relevant to students. Therefore, educators should make time to address the forceful array of commercial interests that are aimed at early adolescents, including those that aim to influence their tastes in fashion, music, leisure activities, and entertainment. The media play an important part in people's lives. Many would be very unhappy if they lost the use of their cell phones, computers, laptops, Internet access, television sets, or DVD players. As with many technologies, media is neither inherently good nor bad. In some uses, especially when used uncritically, it can be a detrimental influence; but if used consciously as a tool, it can be empowering. For the past eight years, the author has been teaching critical media literacy to middle school students at Le Jardin Academy on the Windward side of Oahu. In this article, she shares the primary components of her media literacy curriculum.