But many teens don’t make the most of their daily homework time.

Here are a few routines that can help your teen improve her math grades:

• Keep up. Math is a subject that builds day by day. If your teen has to get behind in some subject, make sure it isn’t math. Teens who fall behind in math class may never catch up.

• Use the book. Many teens see their math book as a place where they find their homework questions and nothing else. But the book can be a great resource to help your teen understand the why of a new math method.

Help your teen get into the habit of rereading the explanation before starting to solve the math questions.

• Write down each step of a problem. Math involves more than getting the right answer. It’s important that teens complete every step. That makes it easier to learn the process of solving problems.

• Work neatly. There will be times when your teen makes a mistake on a homework problem. If her work is neatly laid out, it’s easier for the teacher to see where she went wrong. Some teens find that using graph paper makes it easier to line up the numbers in math problems.

• Do a short review. After finishing a study session,

have your teen write down the most important thing he learned. If there’s anything that your teen needs to study more, have her make some flash cards with sample problems.

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