The "Early Childhood/Teen Communications Project" conducted a pilot investigation of two grade 7-8 combination classes at a K-12 alternative school in Seattle, Washington. The students (approximately 55) were given the opportunity to work with media literacy materials over a four-week period for about 1.5 hours each day. This paper describes the students' responses to advertising before, during, and after working with the material. The set of questions that organized the study described in this paper was: What media literacy skills did the students possess prior to, during and after using media literacy materials? Would students see and hear more details in advertisements after working with media literacy materials for four weeks? Would there be any shifts in their opinions and interpretations? Would their abilities to analyze (see and hear details) evaluate (interpret messages) and reflect (decode and consider the impact of messages on others and themselves) change? Using an instrument the authors developed as a means of analyzing and discussing students' conversations about media and advertising, they looked at what students see and hear in advertising as well as what interpretive and analytical levels they can achieve through discourse. Findings indicated that most students process media messages at a basic informational level. There are, however, a few examples of critical, reflective responses. A teacher's questioning style is crucial in helping students to enter a reflective domain and exposure to media literacy materials improved the students' observational skills as well as their ability to interpret constructed media messages. (Contains 12 references and 2 tables of data.) (Author/RS)