Lightning Literature

By Hewitt Learning (Hewitt Research Foundation)Checked October 29, 2026No affiliate links. Programs never pay to appear. How we label

Lightning Literature is a language arts series from kindergarten through high school that teaches literature, grammar and mechanics, and composition through real books. An elementary level is a reusable teacher's guide, a consumable student workbook and a list of novels and other readers that you borrow or buy; Level Flash, for example, runs 36 weeks. High school levels are separate literature courses, such as American Lit, British Lit and Shakespeare, without grammar or vocabulary.

Subjects: Language arts
Grades: Kindergarten to 12th grade, in levels such as Cloud (K to 2), Spark (1 to 3), Flash (2 to 4), Grades 4 to 6, Storm (6 to 8) and high school courses source ↗
Method: Literature-based source ↗
Format: Books and workbooks source ↗
Faith label: Not labelled
Cost a year: $90.15 a year. Grade 4 set (teacher's guide and student workbook): $90.15, marked down from $99.90. The Grade 4 pack with all but one of the year's books is $195.31 (from $209.79), and the PDF set is $66.40. Read on October 29, 2026; prices change. source ↗
Placement: No placement test on the publisher’s site when we checked.

What it does well

The readers can be borrowed from a library or bought used, which keeps the yearly cost low.
The elementary teacher's guide is reusable, so a younger child needs only a new student workbook.
Each level is sold in print or as PDFs, and a pack can bundle the year's novels with the guide and workbook.
High school is offered as separate one-subject courses, such as American Lit, British Lit, Shakespeare and Speech.

Watch for

It does not teach spelling, learning to read or handwriting, so younger children need another program for those.
High school levels do not include grammar or vocabulary.
The series is mid-revision: several grades are retired editions, the new Flash print books are preorders, and Tempest is listed as coming.
Returns are taken within 30 days, and only for materials in resaleable condition.

It fits

A family that wants language arts built around real children's novels, with a parent who reads along and teaches from a guide.

It doesn’t fit

A family that wants one program to cover phonics, spelling and handwriting too, or a high schooler who still needs grammar lessons.

Visit Lightning Literature ↗

Compare Lightning Literature

Other programs for the same subject and grades:

Brave Writer Ages 5 to 18, about kindergarten to 12th grade, in five age bands
The Good and the Beautiful Preschool to 12th grade; high school has language arts and biology only
Institute for Excellence in Writing Primary level for kindergarten to 2nd grade, then Levels A, B and C for 3rd to 12th grade; the publisher says grades are approximate
Khan Academy Kindergarten to 12th grade, plus early college courses
Logic of English Foundations for ages 4 to 7 (about pre-K to 2nd grade); Essentials for ages 8 to adult (about 3rd grade and up)
Tapestry of Grace Kindergarten to 12th grade in levels: Primer (K to 1st), Lower Grammar (1st to 3rd), Upper Grammar (4th to 6th), Dialectic (7th to 9th), Rhetoric (10th to 12th)
Blossom and Root Preschool to 6th grade (Level 6 still being finished)
Learning Without Tears Pre-K to 6th grade: printing through 2nd grade, cursive from 2nd grade

Lists it is on

What we read, and how we label

Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.

The publisher’s pages we read on October 29, 2026:

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