If your child is bringing home textbooks for homework -- and especially if you've arranged for a second set for home -- take a little time to do more with those books than just cover them and flip through them for homework answers. Sit down with your child and page through the book together. Look at the pictures. Check for helpful elements like a word list, concept list, boxes with fun content, titles, subheads, questions, boldface words. If the book seems way beyond your child's ability to benefit from it, that's a cue to ask the teacher what modifications are being put in place. Your child may also benefit from having you read the chapter aloud and discuss confusing things as you go along, so that he or she doesn't encounter those for the first time in class.
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