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QuestIsle

QuestIsle in Singapore

Maths and English practice that follows the MOE syllabus

QuestIsle turns workbook practice into an island adventure. In Singapore, the Maths and English workbooks for ages 7 to 12 are mapped to the MOE Primary Mathematics Syllabus and English Language Syllabus, Primary 1 to Primary 6: the topics in the order your child meets them at school, with dollars and cents in the money quests and the words Singapore classrooms use.

Start the adventure See the year-by-year map
  • Primary 1 to Primary 6
  • Ages 7 to 12
  • Dollars and cents
  • British spelling
  • Singapore classroom terms

Lower, Middle and Upper Primary

Children in Singapore start Primary 1 in the year they turn seven. MOE groups the six levels into three pairs, and each QuestIsle age band covers one pair.

  1. Ages 7-8

    Primary 1 and 2

    Lower Primary

    Numbers to 1 000, the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables, fractions of a whole, dollars and cents, and English built on phonics, shared reading and weekly spelling.

  2. Ages 9-10

    Primary 3 and 4

    Middle Primary

    Numbers to 100 000, the tables completed to 9 × 9, fractions and decimals, area, angles and graphs, and English that names its grammar and reads between the lines.

  3. Ages 11-12

    Primary 5 and 6

    Upper Primary

    Percentage, ratio, rate, average and simple algebra, with English that handles diverse texts, clause-level grammar and longer writing, on the way to the PSLE at the end of Primary 6.

Math Mountain

Mathematics, level by level

The MOE Primary Mathematics Syllabus (2021) is built around problem solving, with heuristics and part-whole thinking at its heart. Math Mountain follows the same content statements level by level, and every hint walks through the method one step at a time rather than giving the answer.

Ages 7-8

Primary 1 and 2

Math Mountain: Goat Trail

Primary 2 pupils learn the 3 and 4 times tables in full, not just a first look, so Goat Trail treats them as tables to master.

What school teaches

  • Numbers to 100, then to 1 000; ordinal numbers
  • Adding and subtracting within 100; multiplying within 40 and dividing within 20
  • Times tables for 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10
  • Fraction of a whole; money in dollars and cents in decimal notation
  • Time to 5 minutes, then to the minute; length, mass and volume of liquid
  • Basic shapes and 3-D solids; picture graphs with scales

What your child practises

  • Place value to 1 000 and number bonds
  • Renaming in column addition and subtraction
  • The 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables
  • Halves, quarters and like fractions
  • Dollars and cents, and giving change
  • Reading clocks and picture graphs

Ages 9-10

Primary 3 and 4

Math Mountain: Pine Ridge

MOE completes the times tables at 9 × 9 in Primary 3. Pine Ridge does the same before anything beyond it.

What school teaches

  • Numbers to 10 000, then 100 000; rounding to 10, 100 and 1 000
  • Times tables for 6, 7, 8 and 9, completing the tables to 9 × 9
  • Equivalent fractions, mixed numbers and fraction of a set; decimals to 3 places
  • Factors and multiples
  • Area and perimeter, right angles, parallel and perpendicular lines, measuring angles, symmetry and nets
  • Bar graphs, line graphs, tables and pie charts; the 24-hour clock

What your child practises

  • Times tables to 9 × 9, with the 11 and 12 tables as a bonus trail; the written algorithm for × and ÷
  • Equivalent fractions, mixed numbers and decimals
  • Factors, multiples and rounding
  • Area and perimeter of rectangles and composite figures
  • Angles with a protractor and lines of symmetry
  • Bar, line and pie graphs; 24-hour time

Ages 11-12

Primary 5 and 6

Math Mountain: The Summit

Upper Primary maths is where multi-step word problems take over. The Summit practises them in short sets, and the Parent Dashboard shows which problem types need another look before the PSLE.

What school teaches

  • Numbers to 10 million; multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1 000
  • Multiplying and dividing fractions; percentage, including discount, GST and interest
  • Rate, ratio with up to three quantities, and average
  • Simple algebra and linear equations
  • Area of triangles; area and circumference of circles; volume
  • Properties of triangles and quadrilaterals; composite figures

What your child practises

  • Long division and mixed operations
  • Percentages, discount, GST, interest and finding the whole from a part
  • Ratio of up to three quantities, rate and average word problems
  • Letters for unknowns, simplifying expressions and one-step equations
  • Area and circumference of circles, with semicircle and quarter-circle composites
  • Angles in triangles and quadrilaterals; area of composite figures; volume
  • Multi-step word problems with several parts
A quest from Goat Trail

Mei Ling buys a packet of chicken rice for $3.50 and a cup of Milo for $1.20. She pays with a $5 note. How much change does she get?

  • A $1.30
  • B $0.30 (correct answer)
  • C $0.70
  • D $4.70

Hint: Add the two prices first: $3.50 + $1.20 = $4.70. Then count up from $4.70 to $5.00.

Reading Reef Spelling Springs Writing Woods

English Language, Primary 1 to 6

Singapore teaches English as the main language of school, with STELLAR in the early years and the English Language Syllabus 2020 across all six levels. Reading Reef, Spelling Springs and Writing Woods follow that path: phonics and shared reading first, grammar named from Middle Primary, and critical reading and longer writing in Upper Primary, all in British spelling.

Ages 7-8

Primary 1 and 2

Coral Garden · Bubbling Pools · Mossy Hollow

Primary 1 and 2 spelling in Singapore is tested weekly on words from the class reader, often in whole sentences. Our dictation quests work the same way.

What school teaches

  • STELLAR lessons built around shared big books
  • Phonics and phonemic awareness at the start of Primary 1
  • Word recognition and literal comprehension, with a strong focus on listening and speaking
  • Age-appropriate spelling, tested weekly on words from the class reader
  • Writing simple sentences and short recounts
  • Vocabulary learnt through experience and enjoyment

What your child practises

  • Letter sounds and blending, read aloud
  • Short stories with who, what and where questions
  • Sight words and sentence dictation
  • Sentences with capital letters, full stops and question marks
  • Past and present tense; connectors such as and, but and because
  • Sequencing a story: beginning, middle, end

Ages 9-10

Primary 3 and 4

Kelp Forest · Steam Vents · Old Oak

Middle Primary is where grammar gets its names and reading moves from what the text says to what it means.

What school teaches

  • Literal and inferential comprehension; using contextual clues
  • Grammar named explicitly: tenses, question tags, conditionals and comparatives
  • Frequently misspelt and multisyllabic words
  • Factual recounts and other text types by purpose
  • Word formation: prefixes and suffixes
  • Editing a passage for spelling and grammar

What your child practises

  • Main idea, inference and word meanings in context
  • Tenses, question tags, conditionals, comparatives and connectors
  • Prefixes, suffixes, silent letters and homophones
  • Paragraphs, quotation marks and commas in lists
  • Short persuasive and informative pieces
  • Spot-the-mistake quests that fix a sentence

Ages 11-12

Primary 5 and 6

The Deep · The Geyser · Treetop Library

Upper Primary English is assessed in the PSLE across writing, comprehension, listening and oral. Our quests practise the skills underneath each paper and the formats the papers use.

What school teaches

  • Critical reading across diverse texts; information and media literacy
  • Clause-level grammar, present perfect and reported speech
  • Continuous writing of about 150 words and situational writing
  • PSLE Paper 2: grammar and vocabulary MCQ, cloze, visual text, editing and open-ended comprehension
  • Listening comprehension and oral communication
  • Notices and other formal text types

What your child practises

  • Comparing texts, the writer's purpose and figurative language
  • Clauses, reported speech, present perfect and formal versus informal English
  • Continuous writing: planning and drafting a story or a letter
  • Situational writing: notes, emails and notices
  • Cloze passages, editing and visual text in PSLE format
  • Listening comprehension and oral reading quests
  • -tion, -sion and -cian endings; summarising a passage; timed dictation

How we follow the MOE syllabus

A workbook is only useful if it practises what the teacher taught this week. So we build each map from the MOE syllabus documents, level by level, and keep the Singapore details in: the money, the words and the order of topics.

The documents we work from

  • Primary Mathematics Syllabus (2021)The MOE content statements for Primary 1 to 6, Standard track, and the problem-solving framework behind them.
  • English Language Syllabus 2020The learning outcomes for Lower, Middle and Upper Primary across reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, listening and speaking.
  • STELLARThe Strategies for English Language Learning and Reading used in Primary 1 and 2 classrooms.

  • We start from the MOE syllabus

    Every Math Mountain stage for Primary 1 to 6 is checked against the Primary Mathematics Syllabus content statements, and the English worlds against the English Language Syllabus 2020 outcomes. Where MOE places something in a different year from other countries, we follow MOE.

  • One map, two levels

    Goat Trail is Primary 1 and 2, Pine Ridge is Primary 3 and 4, The Summit is Primary 5 and 6. A child in Primary 3 starts Pine Ridge at the first stage and meets Primary 4 topics as the year goes on.

  • Dollars and cents

    Money quests use Singapore dollars in decimal notation, with prices from the hawker centre and the school canteen rather than a pound shop.

  • The words Singapore classrooms use

    Renaming, not regrouping. Picture graph, not pictogram. Mass and volume of liquid. Average, not mean. Large numbers written with a space, as in 10 000. British spelling throughout.

  • Method before answer

    The syllabus puts problem solving and heuristics at the centre. Our hints work the same way: they walk through the method one step at a time, so a wrong answer becomes a second go rather than a red cross.

  • Re-checked when the syllabus moves

    The 2021 Mathematics syllabus reached Primary 6 in 2026. When MOE updates a document, we review the affected maps and move stages where the syllabus has moved.

Words your child hears at school

Where Singapore classrooms use a different word from a British or American workbook, we use the Singapore one.

Renaming
What a British workbook calls exchanging and an American one calls regrouping, in column addition and subtraction.
Picture graph
Rather than "pictogram". Bar graphs follow in Primary 3, line graphs and pie charts in Primary 4.
Mass and volume of liquid
Rather than weight and capacity, in kg and g, litres and millilitres.
Average
Rather than "mean". It arrives in Primary 6 along with ratio of three quantities.
Heuristics
The problem-solving strategies in the syllabus framework, from drawing a diagram to working backwards.
Commonly misspelt words
Rather than England's "statutory words". Singapore has no national word list, so our lists follow the words in common Primary readers.

Questions parents in Singapore ask

Which workbook should my child start on?

Pick the band for their level: Primary 1 and 2 are the 7-8 maps, Primary 3 and 4 the 9-10 maps, Primary 5 and 6 the 11-12 maps. A child who finds the first stages hard can step back one map, and switching never loses progress or stars.

Is this PSLE preparation?

It is daily practice of the skills the PSLE tests, not a mock exam. The Summit and The Deep cover the Primary 5 and 6 content, including PSLE formats such as cloze, editing, visual text and situational writing, and the Parent Dashboard shows accuracy by topic so you can see what needs another go.

Does it follow Standard or Foundation?

Our maps follow the Standard syllabus. A child taking Foundation Mathematics or Foundation English can start one map earlier and move up when they are ready; nothing is lost when they switch.

My child is in K2. Which workbook?

The 5-6 workbooks are kindergarten level, built around the Nurturing Early Learners goals rather than Primary 1. Move to the 7-8 maps when your child starts Primary 1.

Is the English British or American?

British spelling and Singapore usage: colour, full stop and quotation marks. Hints and instructions are read aloud in a clear neutral accent.

How do I pay?

Workbook packs are bought through the App Store or Google Play in Singapore dollars, with no extra charges inside the game.

More in the general FAQ. Schools can read about school packages, and families elsewhere can see QuestIsle in Malaysia.

Start where your child's class is

Pick a Primary level, open the matching map and let the first quest take ten minutes. The Parent Dashboard shows you what was practised and how it went.

Start the adventure For schools