Effectiveness of Double Bubble Thinking Maps in Reading Comprehension:

A 5th Grade Classroom Lesson Study

Rhenessa Cabudol, Keani Diaz, Michelle Gabriel,

Olena Kasaoka, Jacie Nakazato, Nicole Thomas

University of Hawai’i - West O’ahu

 Abstract

Reading comprehension skills are crucial for a student’s success. Teaching key comprehension

strategies are important so that students are able to read, process, and understand the meaning of

a text. These skills are needed for a child to be able to succeed in school, work, and life.

Although comprehension is crucial, many students struggle to gain the proper skills to

comprehend a text. That being said, teaching comprehension through the use of thinking maps

can prove to be beneficial for all types of learners. This lesson study discusses the research

question, what impact does a double bubble thinking map have on reading comprehension with a

diverse group of 5th grade students?

Keywords: comprehension, thinking map, reading, elementary

 Literature Review

The disparity in academic performance between subgroups of students is evident in today’s

classrooms. This disparity is known as the achievement gap and can further be defined as the

difference in performance between students who are at an advantage and students who are at a

disadvantage. Researchers have found that there is not one single reason for the inconsistencies

in student performance, but there are a multitude of factors that contribute to the achievement

gap (Becker and Luthar, 2022, Ratcliff, 2016). Compounding those factors are the effects and

impact related to COVID19. The pandemic has heightened the awareness about how dire the

achievement gap is. This literature review examines the factors that contribute to the

achievement gap and how COVID19 has exacerbated the situation specifically as it relates to

socioeconomic status, social-emotional learning, and online learning. The literature review also

discusses what research says are ways to narrow the achievement gap. Finally, the authors seek

to shed light on the research question, What impact does a double bubble thinking map have on

reading comprehension with a diverse group of 5th grade students?

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

Students who are at a disadvantage are typically non-White, come from a family on the lower

end of the socioeconomic stratum and lack adequate educational resources and support. Becker

and Luthar (2002) explain that Black and Hispanic students are often seen as underachievers

when compared to their White counterparts. Low-income, non-White students do not receive the

same opportunities to succeed as White students. Home and community factors also play a

major role in the achievement gap (Ratcliff, 2016). The disparity between students who come

from a low-income family and students who come from a high-income family contributes to

familial support that may or may not be available (Tomasik, 2021).

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING

Ratcliff, et.al, (2016), collected data from teachers about their perspectives on the achievement

gap. The research concluded that educators believe that student misbehavior and lack of

motivation contributes to the achievement gap. Tomasik, Helbling, and Moser (2021) point out

that students’ underdeveloped abilities to self-regulate only widens the achievement gap.

Hartnett, St. George, and Dron (2011) place emphasis on the Self-Determination theory which

defines and describes the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on student success.

Academic and school attachment, teacher support, peer values, and mental health are four factors

that influence achievement (Beckar and Luthar, 2002). A study done by Becker and Luthar

(2002) shows that focusing on students’ social-emotional learning shows great improvement in

closing the academic gap. Creating a supportive class environment and building relationships

with students can positively affect their achievement outcomes.

ONLINE LEARNING AND COVID19

To prevent the gathering of students at school so as to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to

other people, states imposed online learning in schools. Classes were taught very differently

during the pandemic. Teachers used asynchronous and/or synchronous learning formats. There

is evidence to support that there will be long term effects that the students and teachers will feel

for years to come. One recent study done in Switzerland found distance learning to be

detrimental to many primary school students thereby further widening the achievement gap.

(Tomasik, Helbling, and Moser, 2021). They found that a lack of family support, frequent

student absences, the economic impacts of school closure on families, and the primary school

students’ less developed self-regulation skills impacted student learning. The same authors
predict that students will face “lower job satisfaction, more prevalent health issues, higher crime

rates and lower cohesion in society” (p.573) in the future. Rauf (2020) highlights the importance

of device availability. Digital devices and online learning go hand-in-hand. Those who have

issues with connectivity often fall behind in their studies further widening the achievement gap.

This research is relevant to current events as the data comes from the time when schools were

shut down and online learning imposed on students.

While this was the case in the Switzerland research study, other online learning proved

beneficial. Terras and Boyle (2019) assert that one way to close the academic gap is to motivate

students through the use of online games. Terras and Boyle explain that motivation for learning

is very important to student retention of concepts taught. According to Terras and Boyle, the use

of online educational games in the classroom allows students to retain knowledge and has proven

to motivate students to succeed. Silverman and Hines (2009) studied the use of

multimedia-enhanced learning with ELL (English Language Learners) in read-aloud vocabulary

instruction. Silverman and Hines looked at how multimedia may benefit English Learners and

found that when looking at vocabulary knowledge the gap between ELL and non-ELL students

was narrowed. Some examples of multimedia that can be used are storybooks, read-alouds and

videos. Integrating games to develop students' learning will not only help with their learning

using technology but also to help motivate and engage them.

Ratcliff asserts that educators should pay attention to the data gathered from teachers which

indicates that the achievement gap is due to a lack of motivation, student misbehavior, and

parenting techniques (2016). Teachers had to adapt quickly to a distance learning environment
and teaching style that many are unfamiliar with. Teachers have different technological

experiences and levels of mastery. Compared to issues such as the teacher shortage, the

academic gap is an issue that needs the most attention and so there should be focus on finding

solutions. Possible solutions include grouping students by ability or changing the curriculum.

(Ratcliff, 2016). In the classroom, the scores of the students show that they are behind from

where they are expected to be in the current school year. Teachers should be aware of the effects

and causes of the academic gap that was created due to the pandemic and find ways to help the

students so they can catch back up to where they should be at. If teachers find different ways to

assist students in addressing the academic gap, the students will be able to catch back up to

where their learning expects them to be. Teachers play an important role in their students’

motivation in lessons, this applies to online or in-person.

READING COMPREHENSION

Mahdavi and Tensfeldt emphasize the importance of learning how to read and being able to read

as the precondition for success in modern life. The authors discuss the different focuses in

English Language Arts as students progress through grades K-5. The main focus for basic skills

such as letter recognition, phonemic awareness, and reading fluency occurs in grades K-3. Once

students reach the higher grade level, there is a bigger focus on reading comprehension. One way

students can improve their comprehension skills is by using story mapping, and other types of

graphic organizers (KWL charts, venn diagram, web, etc.). The article also describes a study

using a concept map to facilitate comprehension of informational text among 10 second graders.

Students who participated in the concept mapping showed significant improvement and

performance among students who received traditional ‘read-and-discuss’ instruction (pg. 82).

Idol (1987) demonstrated that 3rd and 4th graders with learning disabilities could be educated
with much more success when they use story mapping as a comprehension strategy alongside

their peers in a general education classroom. Overall, this article highlights the importance of

setting a foundation that focuses on basic skills that are critical for higher order thinking as

students move through higher grade levels. Foundational skills will support student learning as

they engage more complex reading skills such as looking for context clues, and understanding

the text. Graphic organizers allow students to organize their thoughts on paper and be successful

in the classroom.

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

In a meta-analysis study done by Marzano and his team of researchers they identified nine

high-yield strategies that increase student achievement (2001). Results of the research found that

students who compare, classify and create metaphors, analogies and non-linguistic or graphic

representations, are more able to utilize their prior knowledge, access the part of the brain that

seeks patterns, think critically about key information, and better organize their ideas. In a study

done by Scott and Dreher researchers examined the studentsʻ thinking processes while using

graphic organizers. Students were given the task of using a graphic organizer of their choosing,

explaining why they used that particular graphic organizer and how they organized their

thinking. Results of the study showed that students were able to organize their thoughts using a

graphic representation to access higher order thinking (2016).

Wang, Mayer, and Zhou conducted a study that applied the generative learning theory. The

researchers hypothesized that interactive graphic organizers (IGOs) would engage students at a

deeper level through the selection, organization and integration of information. Middle school

students were grouped by text only (NGO), interactive graphic organizer (IGO), or filled-in

graphic organizer (FGO). The study groups were determined by the type of “conditions” they
chose. Retention and comprehensive tests were used to measure the effectiveness of their

learning process while probing and surveys were used to measure their learning experiences.

Compared to the text-only group FGO & IGO groups performed better with deeper

understanding on comprehension tests. Although FGO and IGO groups performed better than the

NGO study group, the IGO group showed an increase in generative cognitive processing (2021).

Stull & Mayer found that graphic organizers are not effective when they are overused.

Self-generated graphic organizers overload students’ limited cognitive ability (2007). However,

Lott and Read (2015) support the need for students to have visual cues that help organize their

thought process. Thinking maps or other graphic organizers help students comprehend and plan

their writing by using visual diagrams in which to enter information. This learning tool makes

learning easier for younger students because the graphic organizer provides both verbal and

nonverbal cues thus making it much easier for students to recall and retrieve information (pg.

51). McTigue, Wright, Hodges, and Franks discuss the use of the graphic organizer CHAMPS.

CHAMPS is a graphic organizer used to help comprehension through character perspective and

vocabulary building. The graphic organizer is shown to help with comprehension especially

among students with language and literacy barriers.

Conclusion

Factors that have contributed to the achievement gap over the years still persist. Perhaps the

greatest concerns for educators and students at this time are the effects of distance learning. In

person classes have been limited. Although distance learning is a relatively new concept for

many, it may become more normalized in the future as educators alike try to find new ways to

help motivate students to find different solutions to successfully closing the academic gap.
 What is a Lesson Study?

Our story

There are two inherent characteristics that are being observed when distinguishing

between a mediocre teacher candidate and an exceptional one (Parker et al., 2016). The first is

having fulfilled field hour quotas with rich experiences and the second is having problem-solving

and inquiry skills. In order to accomplish the latter, Lesson Studies have been implemented in

student teaching programs. Derived from Japan, Lesson Study in the United States is a fairly new

concept (Elliott, 2019). Elliott references research data by Takahashi and McDougal. These two
researchers declare that Lesson Study focuses on completing research as a team with in-depth

attention paid to a specific content area and topic. By collaborating with colleagues, shared

responsibility is implied. With respect to the chosen topic, a research question must be

represented. The question at-hand is the basis for the forthcoming research and lesson planning.

Typically, when the lesson plan has been finalized and approved by all team members, one

person will teach the lesson while the remaining colleagues observe the case pupils. Shortly after

the execution of the lesson and observations, the team meets for a debriefing session. The

purpose of this is to reflect on how the lesson went; if any predictions made were correct; and

what observations were made when studying the attentiveness, engagement, successes, and

struggles of the students. After gathering all necessary information, a paper is collaboratively and

cohesively written by all colleagues.

Description of Lesson Study

According to Ratcliff (2016), a survey done with elementary school teachers showed that

many of them believe the academic gap present in students is a pressing issue. This academic

gap can be attributed to online learning, lack of motivation in students, parenting techniques,

unfamiliar teaching styles, and much more. Reading is an important core subject taught in

school. Comprehension is one of the harder concepts to teach and learn, and it is an area that

students tend to struggle in the most. Following a rudimentary design of lesson study in

comparison to how it is applied in Japan, six student teachers in the final semester of the UHWO

teacher education program embarked on a journey to test our theory that graphic organizers do

have a positive impact on reading comprehension.

On August 24th, we shared what we knew about the school community in which we were

placed and student performance data for students that were in our classrooms. After comparing
iReady Diagnostic scores, we noticed a trend amongst the elementary students in the six different

classrooms particularly in reading comprehension. We then reviewed what the research said

about effective ways to close or narrow the academic gap. After looking through the research, we

decided that graphic organizers would help students with their reading comprehension of

nonfiction literature. Lott and Read (2015) state that graphic organizers are a way to have

students visually organize their thoughts onto paper. It is beneficial to have students organize

their thought process so that their information is written in a way that makes it easier for them to

understand and recall at a later time. We then formulated an open-ended research question that

focused on the impact that graphic organizers have on student learning. With the research

question, it became clear that the purpose of the lesson study was to collect data from a

fifth-grade class to understand the effectiveness of using a double-bubble thinking map to

increase comprehension in reading paired informational passages.

The standard we focused on for this lesson was “CCSS RF.5.4: Read with sufficient

accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. Read grade-level text with purpose and

understanding.” (Reading: Foundational Skills Grade 5, n.d.) The learning target and success

criteria were: Students will use a double bubble thinking map to compare and contrast two paired

passages and “I can create a double bubble thinking map to compare and contrast a paired

passage”, respectively. Afterwards, we started to plan for our lesson. We researched different

passages to use within their lesson and discussed possible teaching strategies to use during

weekly meetings. By September 27th, we had drafted our lesson plan (see Appendix A) and had

gotten feedback from Dr. Kamai and three other mentors. The decision was made to study how

double bubble thinking maps can support comparing and contrasting as a foundational skill

needed to develop reading comprehension. The next month was spent revising the lesson plan
with the opportunity to do a run through of the lesson with three mentor teachers. The mentors

gave us excellent feedback. With all the feedback given, there were more adjustments made

before two of the student teachers co-taught the lesson.

Context and Methodology

School Demographics

Kanoelani Elementary School is located in Waipahu on the island of O’ahu in the state of

Hawai’i. This school is part of the Leeward School District of the Hawai’i Department of

Education and is home to grades preschool through sixth. The school’s vision is to establish their

community with leaders that work together and empower each other; the goal is for all to become

warm hearted citizens. The school is colorful and made up of a diverse student population. Clear

goals guide the development of the curriculum with intentions to increase and support student

learning and student achievement. Everyone in the school has a responsibility in providing

students with a supportive learning environment. For example, parents that live within the

community will take on active roles in the school and educational activities are done with

partnered local businesses. Kanoelani also participates in Choose Love, Choose Aloha for their

students’ social emotional learning (Kanoelani Elementary, 2021).

According to the 2019-2020 School Status and Improvement Report, Kanoelani

Elementary’s census information is based on the Pearl City High School Complex. The

population in the complex at that time was 51,078 people, with 38.2 as the median age. The

median household income of this area was $77,316 which was about $11,000 more than the state

median. For the entirety of the 2019-2020 school year, Kanoelani Elementary had 738 students

enrolled. This school is very diverse with a variety of ethnicities and includes Filipino, Native

Hawaiian, Japanese, White, and many others. 31.6% of the students received free or
reduced-price lunch, 7.6% of students had Individualized Education Programs, and 7.3% of

students received English Language Learner services.

The School Performance Data, which includes the Hawai’i State Assessment Program,

shows the percentage of students who have met the content area’s standards. With regard to the

English Language Arts portion of the assessment, 73% of Kanoelani Elementary’s fifth grade

students were proficient in the content area. This was compared to the state’s proficiency of

57%. In math, 64% of these same fifth graders tested as proficient, while the state scored at

44%.

Participants

Participants of the lesson study included thirteen students from a 5th grade resource

classroom at Kanoelani Elementary School. Of these students, six are boys and seven are girls.

The class is culturally diverse with a mix of Filipino, Spanish, Mexican, Japanese, and mixed

race students. According to their most recent iReady diagnostic scores, eight of the students had

an overall reading placement at grade level. Three students tested at one grade level below and

the remaining two students scored at a third grade level. Three of the students in this classroom

receive additional support from the teacher, they struggle academically with reading, writing, and

mathematics.

Significance of Reading Comprehension

From the student iReady Diagnostic data, the 5th grade students' area of improvement

proved to be reading comprehension. According to Dougherty Stahl, third grade is when students

transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” (2016). Being able to recognize different

text structures will help the reader comprehend their understanding of the reading using pressure
points such as those mentioned above. Student teachers believe that graphic organizers will have

an impact on the 5th grader’s learning in reading comprehension.

Findings

Data Collection

On November 2, 2021 the Fall 2021 cohort conducted the live research lesson at

Kanoelani Elementary School in a 5th grade classroom.

Before conducting the lesson in a classroom, we thought it best to create an observation

checklist (see Appendix H). This checklist served as a guide for the group’s observers to jot

down notes about student engagement and student responses to the lesson being taught (see

appendix G). The checklist was broken down into two sections. The first section focused on the

pre-assessment. We wanted to hone in on observations regarding how much time students took to

choose a note-taking method, if one was chosen, and if there were any popular methods among

the students during the pre-assessment. The second section focused on student engagement

during the activity portion of our lesson. We wanted to know if students were annotating the text

in any way, if there were any need for refocusing, and if they were using the double bubble

method that the student teacher modeled, correctly and efficiently on their own. These

observations were purposeful in helping further our research and answer our overall question.

Student teacher, Mrs. Kasaoka, opened her 5th grade classroom for us to teach our live

lesson and conduct our observations to the lesson taught. Two lessons were taught prior to the

live research lesson. Mrs. Kasaoka introduced students to the compare and contrast text structure

using a paired passage, as well as the double bubble thinking map that the student teachers would

be reintroducing and using during the activity. These prior lessons allowed students to tap into

their prior knowledge of compare and contrast text and thinking maps before our group arrived.
Pre-Assessment

Google Slides were used to activate students’ prior knowledge on what compare and

contrast meant. Then, students were given the pre-assessment. The students were given 2

nonfiction paired passages at a 5th grade reading level, accessed from ReadWorks. These

passages were about two types of birds, the Black Oystercatcher and Piping Plover. These

passages were each about 5 paragraphs long. The rationale for choosing these passages were

based on a previous observation. Students were interested in animals. The passages were given

as in hard copy form and passed out face down as the instructions were being given. The students

were given five minutes to read over and write down their notes on the two passages in any way

that they choose. The teachers encouraged autonomy by giving students choice in the

pre-assessment and permitting them to note-take however they felt most comfortable. They

worked on their notes independently and when they were finished, they moved it to the side to

turn in at a later time.

Pre-Assessment Observations

As two student teachers co-taught the lesson, the rest of our group documents our

observations using a checklist. We wanted to understand the students’ thought process and ability

to comprehend the text during the pre-assessment and the activity. Each observer had a group of

3-4 students to focus on. This helped the observations to be more student specific and data

collection to be more accurate. During the Pre-Assessment, observers noticed some confusion

among the students regarding which passage they were to take notes on. Instructions may have

been unclear. Many of them only focused on the “Black Oystercatcher” Passage and wrote down

key details. The reason for the unclear instructions could have been attributed to a multitude of

reasons. Students may have had difficulty hearing the teachers since the teachers were wearing
masks. The air conditioner in the classroom tends to be loud and disruptive to instruction. When

told to choose a note-taking method, student teachers saw that 7 out of 13 students were most

comfortable using bullet points, or a list. One student felt most comfortable taking 2-column

notes, and another student drew a double bubble thinking map, but did not write down any

details she found from the text. Prior to this observation, student teachers thought students would

lean more towards a venn diagram for compare and contrast, as this was something they learned

and were familiar with in their classroom.

Another area on the observation checklist was annotation of the text. Students were not

specifically instructed on whether or not they were allowed to make marks on the passages that

were given to them. Even with this being the case, 3 out of 13 students annotated the text in

some way. Two of these students underlined details they deemed as important, whereas one

student wrote down her wonders and questions that she had about the passage itself. 9 out of 13

of the students read through the passage but did not make any sort of markings in their passage.

Only one student was off task and did not read through either passage or take notes of any kind.

Pre-Assessment Observations

Jacie - Confusion with which passages to read and what the students were taking notes
on.

Student 1- Read the passage first, then took notes

Student 2- Had bullet points
Student 3- Did kind of 2-column notes

Olena Student 4 - Off task. Did not read through the passages, therefore was quiet and
shy when sharing.
Student 5- 30 seconds of reading and then annotated important parts in the
passage
Student 6- Started the double-bubble without filling in

Keani Student 7- No markings on passage, used bullet points

 Student 8 - No markings on passage, used bullet points
Student 9 - Focused on one side of the passage, made no markings. Used bullet
points to take notes

Nicole Student 10 - Little notes, mostly just numbers (weight, length, etc)
Student 11 - While reading the passage, underlined important information
Student 12 - Wrote wonderings/questions she had about the passage as she read
Student 13 - Noted important information from passage word-for-word

Michelle - May have been confusion in students with the screen only showing the
oystercatcher passage
- Students highlighted their shark passages and not the bird passage, it may have
clicked with them after Rhenessa praised an observation of that method in one of
the students aloud

Rhenessa - There was a lot to read in the time ST gave them so the students might have
been likely shocked and intimidated that there were so many of us taking
observational notes
- Explanation might not have been clear about having to read both passages
- Wanted to see what they would come up with, so ST all agreed to little
directions about note taking.
- Observed that students mostly used bullet notes and pulled important
information from the text.

Dr. Kamai - Look at the pattern in organizational structures

- 1 student created a list and did compare/contrast with headers (facts, looks,
lives)
- 1 student created a list with two categories, ran out of time with the piping
plover (one item listed)
- 5 students used a double-bubble map, one had an empty one with no notes
- 1 student had double-bubble but listed additional facts for oystercatcher
- 1 student had double-bubble but listed additional facts for both passages
- 1 student had categorized two articles but no notes
- 2 students (3 papers) jotted down notes on the passage paper, not on folder
paper
- Wanted us to tell them what they’re doing
- Ask them, “We think double-bubble maps are great for comprehension. What
do you think?”
- No difficulty with reading, but think more of how could ST give them more
think time
- Took time to think and look back at passages Student 9 was looking for new
information (lay eggs high so water doesn’t wash away). Understands directions,
just needs more think time to be able to process and write it down
- Good passages, good exit pass, post-it notes on KWL, Michelle’s wait-time
was perfect for when the student hesitated and had difficulty, then she asked for
another student to share and help her out
- How can ST allow more time to think?

Noticing
- How are ST checking for understanding in the pre-assessment? (This was a
concern)
- Very teacher-directed
Wonder if ST had the kids talking to each other, would ST have more
insight on their strategies?
Give them opportunities to talk, share, and participate
- Directions were a bit unclear is concerning
Mask doesn’t help, AC doesn’t help, lots of bodies in the class. Keep
track of those factors and put them into the paper

Questions
1. With the criteria, why was it shared at the end (rationale)?
Rhenessa: It is more in line with their rubric and expectations, ST want them to
know expectations and help with direction in the lesson. So they knew to make
at least 3 facts.
Keani: Not put rubric bc it would make the findings different. Without a rubric,
ST would see how the students would actually perform.
Michelle: ST want to see what they know without much guidance. So no effect
on us as a variable.
Jacie: Good so they know their expectations.
Kamai: Allows for autonomy, but does cause some reaction. So it helps to see a
sample and some clarity. Why aren’t ST giving that to the kids? If it’s graded,
you want to let them know where they are headed.

2. After ST finds out what they do or do not know, what do ST do next?

If enough understand, ST move on and pull the ones who didn’t to make it clear
to them. If they don’t understand, then go back to teaching

Lit Review
- How to integrate note-taking research

Next Step
- Think about how to be more intentional
 Commonalities (Themes/Patterns) in Work Samples-

- All are comfortable with bullet points and underlining, especially with no prompting to
write on passage
- Students use different strategies to categorize the information shows how they
processed it
- All students were comfortable with bulleting and underlining
- Most students (7) took it upon themselves to follow the modeling of double-bubble on
the back of their paper
- Most students were on task: take notes and write about key information they found in
the passage and use as notes
- Followed directions

Activity

After the pre-assessment, the co-teachers took an “I Do, We Do, You Do” approach when

it came to modeling the double bubble thinking map. The students were engaged in the

discussion about the use of double-bubble maps to organize their note-taking. They were asked

to compare pictures of the two birds that the students had just read about or anything new that

they learned from reading the passages. The teacher drew an empty double bubble on the

whiteboard. It consisted of three bubbles for similarities and six bubbles for differences, three for

each bird they were comparing. As she continued to model the class example on the board, many

of the students took the initiative to copy down the example on their own papers. The teacher

also had the students come up to the board and write what they learned to the appropriate

bubbles of the double bubble map for student engagement.

After modeling the “I Do, We Do” portion of the double bubble map, the teachers

proceeded with the activity planned. The students were given another nonfiction passage that

was accessed from TeachersPayTeachers. This passage, Sharks, was written by Gina

Szczodrowski for a second to fifth-grade level and is 4 paragraphs long. A blank piece of folder
paper was also given to students so they could draw their own double bubble thinking map. As a

group we decided this would give students the freedom to add more similarities and differences

that they saw fit. Having a template of a certain amount of bubbles could somehow restrict them

to only a specific number of details, which is why we chose to allow students to create their own

double bubble thinking map. Attached to the passage was a rubric. The purpose of the rubric was

to let students know what was expected of them as they worked through the activity. The passage

was passed out to the students. They were given time to read independently and organize their

notes. After giving the students time to create their own double bubbles, the teacher created a

double bubble map for the shark's passage on the board. She had students come to the

whiteboard and share their findings with the class by writing them on the double bubble map in

the appropriate bubbles.

Finally, the students were asked to assess themselves using a rubric that outlined the

success criteria (see Appendix C). The teacher did a temperature check of thumbs-up, thumbs to

the side, and thumbs-down to show if they met their success criteria. The students were then

directed to complete an exit ticket in the form of a Google Form on whether or not they think

they succeeded at utilizing a double bubble map to organize their notes. The teacher referred

back to their questions that they had at the beginning of the lesson in the KWL chart and

proceeded to do the L portion of the chart to wrap up the lesson. Students wrote on a Post-It note

something new that they learned from the lesson. The students were not restricted to things about

the double bubble map. They were encouraged to add what they learned from the passage

themselves and add it to their KWL chart.

Activity Observations
 When the teacher started to call on students to write their ideas on the board, student

teachers observed that many of the students wanted to participate. During the activity, all

students were actively engaged in the activity. Students also showed their schema and newly

learned knowledge through participating in conversations and writing their thoughts on the

board. Though one student confessed that he was not interested in the topic of sharks, he was

still willing and able to complete the activity. The students were also observed to have no issue

understanding the passage. 7 out of 13 of the students annotated their text in some way. Most

chose to highlight and underline characteristics of each animal. Many students were seen

re-reading the passage multiple times and going back and highlighting the important information

that they discovered. Some students chose to circle details, and one student boxed signal words

to differentiate between similarities and differences. 6 out of 13 students did not annotate the text

at all, but all students had drawn a double bubble map before reading through the text. Although

most of the students were marking up their passages and focusing on characteristics, only one

student made a T-Chart for separate notes before moving on to the double bubble.

Activity Observations

Jacie Student 1- Had a hard time finding similarities, had one for a while then had two
after looking at Student 2. Kept reading and re-reading
Student 2- Had almost 5 facts for each section
Student 3- Had a hard time finding similarities

- Did more than 3 facts.

- Student 1 started highlighting, Student 2 then started. Student 3 then started
- Students didn’t jot notes.
- All engaged, on task
- Drew double-bubble before making notes
- Not sure how many referenced the rubric
- With having words on paper, students might not be sure how to bring it from
paper to a thinking map
- Disconnect from highlighting to double-bubble
Olena Student 5- Underlined passage and did double-bubble
Student 6- Skimmed through and comprehend, right away started double-bubble
Student 10 - Listed things on his paper. Rhenessa talked to him about do you
want to start writing your notes about the sharks and he began the double-bubble

- All engaged in reading

- Right away started working on double-bubble, except Student 10
- Student 4 was playing with an eraser and Student 10 was tapping pencils
- Everything looked in the right place
- Not sure how many referenced the rubric

Keani Student 7- Had no notes on paper, which affected the double-bubble because she
had to go back and reread rather than pick it out in notes. Very specific in her
double-bubble. The only one that added an extra bubble.
Student 8 - Reread. Started a bubble map but not sure if he wrote anything
down.
Student 9 - Highlighted some and underlined, very engaged. 2-3 things were
highlighted, then went back. Circles in double-bubble are small compared to
writing.
- Not sure how many referenced the rubric

Nicole Student 11 - T-chart

Student 12 - Double-bubble with details of paraphrasing
Student 13 - Double-bubble with details of paraphrasing, then went back to
highlight and boxed in signal words
- All started on similarities then went into great whites and hammerhead
differences
Could’ve been influenced by Michelle’s modeling (similarities first and
modeling double-bubble before reading)
- Labelled correctly (proper use)
- No outstanding behaviors

Michelle - More engaged by coming up to the board while modeling

- Easy to find differences rather than similarities
More analysis
- More highlighting and underlining
- Writing on the passage itself for later reference
- Good not to mention so they don’t rush to get the early work
Take time with no worries
- Student 6 was the only one who completed the early finisher activity,

Rhenessa - Highlighting and not fully reading first.

- Keywords being highlighted rather than full sentences
 - Do they understand that there are signal words when comparing/contrasting?
(Did not see this in some of their highlights.)
- Might help with the relationship between text structure and what they’re
looking for in key info.

Dr. Kamai - Could ST have read the passage in pairs or whole groups to combat difficulties
with reading?
- What impact does the double-bubble graphic organizer have on reading
comprehension in a fifth-grade class?
How do ST integrate/capture what Jacie observed
Reading comp has to be teased out a bit more

Overall observations/comments-

- If ST modeled note-taking on the passage they will know why ST did that.
- Could've been given a paper with the outline of double-bubble?
- Detailed and specific on notes in double-bubble
- Students should be educated on signal words when looking at compare/contrast
- Why are graphic organizers better than highlighting?

Commonalities in Work Samples-

- Most students did or started with the double-bubble
- Given more time, 5 students would have completed it
- Most students drew the double-bubble before reading the passage
- The majority of students are comfortable with underlining and highlighting

Post-Activity Observations

After the lesson was over, we did a wrap up with the students by asking them to fill out

an exit ticket in a google form (see Appendix D). There were three questions that we asked

students to answer. The first question was “How did you hit your learning target?”, “On a scale

of 1-5, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being very helpful, how well did your double bubble

thinking map help you to compare and contrast two ideas?”, “How likely are you to use a double

bubble thinking map to compare and contrast in the future?” Some responses to the first

question “How did you hit your learning target today?” are as follows: “completed double

bubble map”, “I answered with three comparisons and two contrasts each category for sharks”,
“I hit my learning target today by learning how to use the double bubble thinking map when

comparing and contrasting.” and “I hit my target by using a double bubble to compare 3 unlike

things and 3 similar things.” For the second question, 53.8% of the students said that on a scale

of 1-5, they thought the double bubble map was very helpful when comparing and contrasting

two ideas. For the third question, 53.8% of students said that they were somewhat likely to use a

double bubble map to compare and contrast in the future.

The purpose of this wrap up was to give the students the opportunity to self evaluate and reflect

on meeting their learning target. We also thought it would be helpful in the research to see how

students engage and respond to using the double bubble map when comparing and contrasting

two things in a given passage. Observers noticed that students were already aware of the double

bubble map and how to use it. Some students did not make the circles in their double bubble big

enough to fit their details, so instead of making them bigger, many of them tried to fit their

writing into the bubbles they already made, which made it hard for us to decipher some of the

words these students were trying to write.

After the lesson was completed, and all the students turned in their exit slip, the cohort

met in a conference room at Kanoelani Elementary School to debrief and talk about areas for

improvement after teaching and observing the lesson that was just taught. We noticed that giving

the students clear expectations, such as going over the rubric would have been beneficial in the

quality of student work. Although a rubric was provided, going over it beforehand would solidify

what the students needed to do in order to meet or exceed expectations. The group also

mentioned that more peer interaction during the activity could have helped the students’

engagement and have made the process somewhat easier. By being able to read through the
passage together and bounce ideas off of each other, students could have been able to discuss the

process more freely which in turn could have increased the observational data and student

responses to the double bubble thinking map. Allowing more time to think, as well as time to

read through the passages may have also helped in the findings in both the pre-assessment and

activity portions of the lesson. When the students were told by the teachers how much time they

had to read the passage and complete their note-taking and double-bubble, observers noticed a

shift in the atmosphere. Students seemed to read through the passage only once and rushed to

write down as many details as they could onto their paper. We discussed that having the students

partner up and giving more time for students’ thought process could have yielded better results

overall in quality of work, student engagement, and overall feedback in the exit slip.

Conclusion

From our research, student teachers know that reading comprehension is a difficult skill to

master in upper elementary grades. This issue, along with the academic gap among students

because of the pandemic led us to design a lesson plan that focuses on using the double-bubble

thinking map to support students in comparing and contrasting nonfiction texts. Based on the

observations and the data that we collected, we have come to the conclusion that using a

double-bubble thinking map has positive effects on supporting student reading comprehension

skills. The double-bubble thinking map helped students to organize their ideas quickly and

efficiently. From the student work, we noticed that all participants were using the double-bubble

thinking map appropriately and with sufficient time, all would have been able to complete the

activity. Like with anything, students need multiple opportunities to practice with graphic

organizers and thinking maps. We believe that graphic organizers such as double bubble thinking
maps prove to be beneficial in supporting students organize their thinking. We came to the

conclusion that we would continue to use this as a strategy to support reading comprehension.

Although the double bubble thinking map helped these students, it is still not proven that this is

the ideal method of problem solving. Overall, graphic organizers prove to be beneficial in

supporting student comprehension in a 5th grade classroom.

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 Appendix

Appendix A, Lesson Plan

LESSON PLAN

Name: Date:  November 2, 2021(8:20am-9:35am)

Rhenessa Cabudol, Keani Diaz,
Michelle Gabriel, Olena Kasaoka,
Jacie Nakazoto, Nicole Thomas

Co-teachers: Rhenessa & Michelle

Lesson Title:
Research Q- What impact do graphic organizers have on elementary students’ ability to
comprehend a text?

Grade Level: 5 Standard(s):

Subject: ELA CCSS RF.5.4: Read with sufficient accuracy and
fluency to support comprehension.
A. Read grade-level text with purpose and
understanding.
Learning Objectives(s): 
Students will use a double bubble thinking map to compare and contrast two paired passages.

Differentiation Strategies: Content, Process, Product

Pre-Assessment: Have students take notes however they are comfortable with.
Genre: Nonfiction (3 paired passages included) Pre-assessment: Birds; activity: choice
between Zoo Animals and Sharks
Post-Assessment: Double Bubble thinking map

What lesson(s)/learning activities came prior to this lesson?

Paired Passages, Caterpillar & Butterfly photo compare/contrast
● Powerpoint on Wednesday 10/27

Social Media Compare & Contrast passage with double bubble

● Introducing the double bubble for compare and contrast (Friday 10/29)

Teaching Targets (timing, activity types, purpose, kinds of grouping)

Time: (the Teaching Strategy - the Purpose - the why Method - the how (whole
increments what group, small groups, partners,
of time individual, etc.)
depend on
the age of
students)
8:30-8:32 Introduction: Whole group
(2 min.) ● Compare & During intro:
Teaching: Contrast -Michelle passes out
Rhenessa ● Activate PK, pre-assessment and folder
ask students: paper
What does it
mean to
compare and
contrast?
8:32-8:45 Pre-Assessment: Looking for:
(13 min.) Birds Passages -How long does it
Teaching: - Black take for students to
Rhenessa Oystercatcher come up with their
- Piping Plover own method? Individual

Students will be asked -What

to compare and method/strategy did
contrast characteristics they choose?
in the two passages
freely (allowed to take (We anticipate
notes however they students will use
feel fit) bullet points to make
. lists, write down
what they deem
important, create
two-column notes,
start a venn diagram
or double bubble)

-Popular methods
among students?

8:45-8:55 Double-Bubble Show expectations Whole group

(10 min.) Modeling: I do, We for activity
Teaching:
Michelle do, You do based on
pre-assessment
Differentiation -
- Teacher will showing visuals to
model using compare and
bird photos contrast
from bird
passages
- Teacher will
model double
bubble using
Birds Passages
and anchor
chart
- You can add on
double bubbles
if you want to
- Be as specific
as possible
- State Learning
Target: I can
create a double
bubble thinking
map to
compare and
contrast a
paired passage

8:55-9:30 Activity:
(35 min.) Sharks passage Using double bubble Individual
Teaching: - compare and to assess if the
Michelle contrast thinking map
characteristics supports the students
using their self in comparing and
created ‘double contrasting
bubble’ model

Early Finishers:
● Start on other
passage(s)

Teaching: Wrap Up: Restate Have students go Individual

learning objective back to learning
target to self reflect
Google form if they hit the
learning target
 - I hit my
learning target
by…
- Rating double
bubble scale
1-5
- How likely are
you to use this
thinking map
again?
Materials/Handouts: Tangible items Extensions: Ways to reinforce academic skills, etc. 
used to implement the lesson
Laptops Early finishers passage
Hard copies of passages
Lined paper

Resources: What you used to prepare

to teach the lesson

Peer-Reviewed journals, paired

passages (readworks.org), double
bubble thinking map, anchor chart
Appendix B : Pre & post-assessment data

Pre-assessment Post-assessment
Taking notes freely Double-Bubble Thinking Map

Student 1 ● Read passage ● Drew double-bubble

● Took notes using before making notes
bullet points ● Highlighted
similarities and
differences in
passages
● Showed difficulty in
finding similarities
between two sharks
● Peeked at neighbor’s
work
● Reread a few times

Student 2 ● Read passage ● Drew double-bubble

● Took notes using before making notes
bullet points ● Highlighted
similarities and
differences in
passages
● Showed difficulty in
finding similarities
between two sharks
● Had 4-5 facts for each
section

Student 3 ● Read passage ● Drew double-bubble

● Took notes using a before making notes
2-column chart ● Highlighted
similarities and
differences in
passages
● Showed difficulty in
finding similarities
between two sharks

Student 4 ● Off-task ● Off-task

● Did not read through ● Did not read through
passages passages
● Created ● Created
double-bubble during double-bubble during
modeling modeling
Student 5 ● Read for 30 seconds ● Underlined
● Proceeded to similarities and
underline important differences
parts of passage ● Transferred
information onto
double-bubble

Student 6 ● Created a double ● Color-coded

bubble without filling double-bubble
it in ● Skimmed through
● Skimmed through passage to fill in
passage thinking map

Student 7 ● Read passage ● No notes taken

● Took notes using ● Needed to reread
bullet points ● Very specific details
in double-bubble
● Added extra bubble

Student 8 ● Read passage ● Read and reread

● Took notes using ● Circled important
bullet points information
● Did not have time to
transfer to
double-bubble

Student 9 ● Focused on one side ● Highlighted and

of passage underlined
● Took notes using ● Created
bullet points double-bubble that
● Looked for new was too small to write
information in facts (hard to read)

Student 10 ● Listed some notes, ● Off-task

mostly numbers ● Listed 3 facts about
○ Weight the Great White Shark
○ Length ● Mentioned that he was
not particularly
interested in sharks

Student 11 ● While reading ● Took notes using a

passage, underlined T-chart
important information ● Did not have time to
transfer to
double-bubble

Student 12 ● Wrote wonderings and ● Double-bubble with

 questions about the details of paraphrasing
passage while reading

Student 13 ● Noted important ● Double-bubble with

information from details of paraphrasing
passage ● Highlighted important
word-for-word information
● Boxed signal words

Appendix C: Rubric

Rubric 3 2 1

Double Bubble All facts are placed in Some facts are placed No facts are placed in
the correct category in the correct the correct category
on the double bubble category on the on the double bubble
thinking map. double bubble thinking map.
thinking map.

Compare & Contrast Places more than 3 Places 3 facts in each Places less than 3
facts in each section section of the double facts in each section
of the double bubble bubble thinking map. of the double bubble
thinking map. thinking map.

Specificity Clearly describes the Somewhat clearly Does not clearly

facts in the double describes the facts in describe the facts in
bubble thinking map. the double bubble the double bubble
thinking map. thinking map.
Appendix D : Google Form Pie Charts

Very likely: 6 students

Somewhat likely: 7 students

Not likely: 0 students

5 out of 5: 7 students

4 out of 5: 5 students

3 out of 5: 0 students

2 out of 5: 0 students

1 out of 5: 1 student
Appendix E-G: Student samples (Pre and post)
 Appendix H: Observation Checklist

Observation Checklist

Pre-Assessment Observations Notes

How long does it take for students to come up with their

own method?
● Short period of time (~1 min)
● Average period of time (~3-5 min)
● Extended period of time (~5-10 min)
● Didn’t come up with a method/ didn’t do anything

What method/strategy did they choose?

● Bullet points
● Write down what they deem important
● Create two-column notes
● Start a venn diagram or double bubble
● Other

Popular methods among students

Activity Observations Notes

Note taking on passages

● Are students underlining important information?
● Are students jotting down notes on the reading?

Student engagement and behaviors

● Are the students engaged with the reading?
● Do they show a liking towards the double bubble map?
● Are there any outstanding behaviors? (Any need for
refocusing)

Proper/improper use of strategies (double-bubble, Venn

diagram, etc)
● Not putting the two topics in the double bubble
(hammerhead and great white)
● Putting differences and similarities in different bubbles
(differences in the similarities bubble, vice versa)
● Using the double bubble to note take instead of compare
and contrast