Singapore Maths: Books, Methods and Online Classes

Singapore Maths develops understanding through objects, pictures and mathematical symbols, with a strong emphasis on solving problems. For a family overseas, learning it can mean using Singapore Maths books at home, joining a local enrichment programme, or taking live online classes with teachers based in Singapore.

If you have encountered names such as Marshall Cavendish, Shing Lee, Star Publishing or Singapore Asia Publishers, the next step is to identify the book and the learning your child needs. A textbook can introduce a method; a teacher can listen to your child's explanation, spot a misunderstanding and help them apply the idea to a different question.

What is Singapore Maths, and why is it well known?

“Singapore Maths”, also written “Singapore Math”, describes an approach associated with Singapore's mathematics curriculum and the teaching materials developed around it. It is especially familiar internationally through primary maths books. Different publishers and teaching providers offer their own materials and programmes.

Singapore's curriculum places mathematical problem solving at the centre. Concepts, calculation skills, reasoning, attitudes and the ability to monitor one's own thinking work together. Corporation Primary School's explanation of the MOE Mathematics Framework describes these five connected components.

The country's international results help explain the interest. In PISA 2022, Singapore's 15-year-olds achieved a mean mathematics score of 575, higher than every other participating country or economy. Those results describe performance across an education system; they do not establish how much a particular child will improve through a book or tuition programme. See the OECD's PISA 2022 results comparison.

For your child, the useful question is what they will learn to do: explain a calculation, represent a relationship, choose a method and check whether the answer makes sense.

How Singapore Maths builds understanding

Concrete, pictorial and abstract: connect the representations

The concrete-pictorial-abstract approach, often shortened to CPA, connects physical quantities with pictures and symbols:

For example, a child working out 7 + 5 can split 5 into 3 and 2. The 3 completes a group of 10; the remaining 2 gives 12. Counters, a picture and the calculation 7 + 3 + 2 all express the same relationship. A number bond records how 5 has been split into its parts.

The teacher's questions connect these representations: “Why did you take 3?” and “Where is the remaining 2 in your picture?” That explanation matters when the child later meets 27 + 5 or 37 + 6.

Si Ling Primary School's curriculum guide explains CPA alongside model drawing and structured problem solving. Objects and diagrams have a purpose: they help the child understand the calculation they will eventually carry out with symbols.

Bar models: show how quantities are related

A bar model represents quantities with lengths. Equal sections stand for equal amounts. This lets a child organise the information in a word problem before choosing the arithmetic.

Consider this example:

Maya has three times as many stickers as Leo. They have 48 stickers altogether. How many stickers does Maya have?

Represent Leo's stickers with one unit and Maya's with three units of the same size:

Maya: [     ][     ][     ]
Leo:  [     ]

All four units together = 48 stickers

Read the model in order:

1. Maya and Leo have 3 + 1 = 4 equal units altogether.
2. One unit represents 48 ÷ 4 = 12 stickers.
3. Maya's three units represent 12 × 3 = 36 stickers.

Maya has 36 stickers. Check both conditions: 36 is three times 12, and 36 + 12 = 48.

Dividing 48 by 3 would divide the combined total into Maya's three units while leaving Leo's unit unaccounted for. The model makes that mistake visible.

Now change the information: Maya still has three times as many stickers as Leo, but she has 18 more stickers than Leo. How many does Leo have?

The same bars show that the difference is two units. Two units represent 18 stickers, so Leo's one unit represents 9 stickers. Maya has 27, which is three times 9 and 18 more than 9. The child has to decide what 18 describes before calculating. Changing the relationship given in the question is a useful way to check understanding beyond copying a worked solution.

Singapore Maths publishers and books parents may recognise

The publisher, series title and edition all matter. Two books with similar covers or the same level number can follow different topic sequences. Some international editions are adapted to overseas standards.

One detail deserves particular care: Primary Mathematics is a title used across different editions and publishing arrangements. Marshall Cavendish's 2022 programme and Star's Singapore International Edition should be identified separately when asking about resources or class placement.

DeepThink is independent of these publishers; the book names here identify resources and editions.

How to choose and use a Singapore Maths book

Start with the purpose. A child learning a topic for the first time needs explanations, examples and teaching. A child who understands the topic but needs practice may benefit from a workbook. A book of challenging word problems serves another purpose again.

Before buying, look at a sample chapter and its contents page. Can your child understand the earlier examples? Do the exercises assume a method they have not learnt? Does the book provide worked solutions that explain the reasoning, or only final answers?

Match supporting materials to the exact edition. A teacher's guide or workbook from another edition may use a different sequence or question numbering. Keep the cover, edition details and ISBN available when checking compatibility with the publisher or seller.

At home, ask your child to explain a worked example, close the solution and attempt a related problem. If the reasoning is unclear, return to the quantities or draw a model together. Buying a harder level is unlikely to resolve a missing earlier concept.

Singapore Maths franchises overseas

Singapore Maths is also offered through international franchise networks. Seriously Addictive Mathematics (S.A.M.) is one example: its enrichment programme uses CPA and problem-solving activities.

When comparing a local centre with online classes taught from Singapore, check the actual programme: who teaches, how they respond to mistakes, which curriculum they cover, and whether the timetable lets your child participate consistently.

Why learn Singapore Maths with teachers based in Singapore?

For an overseas family, a Singapore-based teacher who regularly teaches the Singapore syllabus brings familiarity with its progression from early number concepts to more demanding problems. That familiarity matters when a child can perform a calculation but cannot explain a word problem, or has learnt a shortcut before understanding why it works.

A teacher can use the child's working to decide where the explanation needs to begin. In the sticker example, the difficulty might be the meaning of “three times”, the four-unit total, or division itself. Each calls for different teaching.

Live discussion also lets a teacher change the question, ask why a step is valid and judge whether the child can work independently. For families who first discovered Singapore Maths through a book, this is a way to experience the teaching behind the methods with a teacher in Singapore.

Which Singapore Maths level should a child studying overseas join?

DeepThink teaches the Singapore Mathematics syllabus, the area our teachers specialise in. Placement considers what your child already understands and the Singapore syllabus topics they are ready to learn. An overseas Grade 3 or Year 3 label, or a book marked 3A, should not determine placement by itself.

Share recent independent work covering calculation and word problems. A teacher needs to see both: a child may calculate accurately yet struggle to identify what a problem is asking, or understand the relationship but need help with arithmetic.

Tell us whether your child needs help with foundational concepts or is ready for more demanding problems. Students studying overseas may have covered familiar topics in a different order; their recent working helps our teachers recommend a starting point within the Singapore syllabus.

For a student already studying secondary maths, include the current algebra, geometry or other topics and recent examples of their working.

What should overseas parents check before booking online classes?

Confirm the practical details that will let your child take part consistently:

• Lesson time: give your city and time zone. Singapore is on UTC+8; check the recurring time in your country, including any seasonal clock changes where you live.
• Language: explain how comfortably your child reads maths questions and discusses their reasoning in English. Unfamiliar words can obscure an idea they understand numerically.
• Participation: ask how the teacher and child will share written working, and what your child should prepare for a trial class.
• School commitments: share term dates, examination periods and other regular activities when discussing a weekly timetable.
• Attendance and fees: confirm the currency, payment arrangements, absence policy and withdrawal terms with the provider before enrolling.

A trial class can help you observe the teaching and your child's response. Look for an explanation your child can follow, a chance to ask questions and work that is appropriate for their understanding. Afterwards, ask your child to explain one idea they learnt and try a related question independently.

Learning Singapore Maths online with DeepThink

We receive enquiries about Singapore Maths from families in the Middle East and Europe, as well as Australia, Japan, Thailand and the United States. Learning directly with teachers in Singapore appeals to families who want help understanding the methods they have encountered in books or an earlier programme.

DeepThink's Singapore-based teachers cover the Singapore Mathematics syllabus in live online maths classes for Primary 1 to Secondary 4. Classes are capped at four students and grouped by learning pace. The Mathematics programme includes a weekly 1.5-hour lesson and access to our practice platform.

Our tutors teach on Zoom, using screen sharing or a shared digital whiteboard. Students keep their webcams on so the teacher can monitor participation and speak with them. Homework and extra practice take place on the platform outside class. Teachers review students' practice before class and use their judgement to address gaps in understanding.

For an enquiry, send your child's age, current school year, maths topics, recent working, and your city or time zone. We can then discuss a suitable Singapore Maths level and available class times with you.

Trial lessons cost SGD $30. Ask about a suitable class time and level before booking.

Ask us about a trial lesson to explore learning directly with our teachers in Singapore.