With the pervasiveness of digital technology, elementary students almost instinctively begin inquiry-based instruction with a bias. Visual information from digital devices competes with elementary science inquiry. To counteract this effect, teachers can use advance organizers. The advance organizer is a tool or a mental learning aid to help students integrate new information into their existing knowledge and leads to "meaningful learning" as opposed to rote memorization. They include the visualization of the learning experience as students create drawings of their observations and record these in journals and on worksheets discussed in class about the activity. In this way they support the development of visual literacy. Advance organizers can produce significant gains in learning by placing the activity within a context that builds on prior knowledge (Novak 1998; Ausubel 1968). This article describes the Elementary Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (EG) curriculum (used by Laura VanHorn) that provides organizers for science lessons prioritizing Earth system sciences (ESS). "The Scoop on Soils" is one of five different lessons that are available free at the GLOBE website and includes a storybook plus activity sheets. (Contains 2 figures and 3 online resources.)