Teaching The Maze Runner in Grade 7 or 8 has a lot of potential. I read The Maze Runner several years ago and ended up reading the entire series by James Dashner because I absolutely loved it. One of my favourite things about the first book was just how unpredictable it was. Every time I thought I understood what was happening, something changed, another piece of information was revealed, or I was left with even more questions.
Looking at it again through a teacher lens, that unpredictability is also one of the reasons I think The Maze Runner has so much potential in a Grade 7 or 8 classroom.
There are SO many opportunities for students to make predictions, collect evidence, develop theories, and then go back and reconsider those theories as new information is revealed.
There is also a movie adaptation, which makes this a great book to pair with a book-to-film comparison activity after reading.
That being said, The Maze Runner gets intense. There is violence, death, frightening imagery, children being put in dangerous situations, and some pretty disturbing implications about what has been done to these characters.
So, as always, here is the spoiler-filled version of what teachers should know before deciding to teach The Maze Runner in Grade 7 or 8.
What Is The Maze Runner About?
The Maze Runner follows Thomas, a teenage boy who wakes up inside a moving metal box with almost no memory of his previous life.
When the box opens, he finds himself in the Glade — an enclosed area inhabited entirely by teenage boys who, like Thomas, arrived without their memories.
Surrounding the Glade is an enormous maze.
Its walls move.
The doors close every night.
And inside are terrifying creatures called Grievers.
Some of the boys, known as Runners, spend their days exploring the Maze and mapping its changing paths in the hope of finding a way out.
Then Thomas arrives.
Shortly afterward, something completely unprecedented happens: a girl named Teresa is sent into the Glade.
She is the first girl ever to arrive.
She also appears to know Thomas.
From there, everything begins to change.
And that is one of the things I loved most about this book.
You spend a huge portion of The Maze Runner trying to figure out what is happening right alongside Thomas.
Why The Maze Runner Works So Well for Grade 7/8
The mystery is probably the biggest selling point for me.
Students aren’t simply waiting to find out whether Thomas escapes. They’re trying to answer questions constantly:
Who put these kids here?
Why can’t they remember anything?
Why Thomas?
Why Teresa?
What are the Grievers?
Why does the Maze change?
Is there actually a way out?
Can the people outside the Maze be trusted?
And every time students think they have an answer, James Dashner gives them another reason to question it.
For a read-aloud, that gives you endless opportunities to stop and ask students what they think is going on.
I could see keeping a class theory board throughout the novel and having students add, change, or completely abandon theories as new evidence appears.
It would also be a fantastic way to teach inference and using textual evidence without making those skills feel like isolated reading exercises.
They genuinely need the evidence because they want to solve the mystery.
If your students enjoy dystopian stories that slowly reveal what is really happening, The Giver is another fantastic Grade 7/8 option. You can read my teacher’s guide to teaching The Giver in Grade 7 here.
Major Themes in The Maze Runner
Survival and Cooperation
The Gladers have essentially built their own miniature society.
Everyone has a job. There are rules. There is leadership. Food has to be produced. The Maze has to be explored. People have to work together.
That creates some great opportunities to talk about what humans do when traditional structures disappear.
Why do the Gladers need rules?
What makes someone a good leader?
When is it acceptable to break a rule?
Thomas actually provides an interesting case study here because he repeatedly challenges the existing system — sometimes with very good reason.
Identity
Thomas doesn’t know who he is.
Neither do most of the other boys.
Without their memories, they have to build identities based almost entirely on the choices they make inside the Glade.
I think there is a really interesting discussion to be had here about what actually makes someone who they are.
Is Thomas still responsible for things he may have done before the Maze if he can’t remember doing them?
Are we defined by our memories?
Our choices?
Our intentions?
What happens when Thomas begins discovering that he and Teresa may have been involved with the people who created the Maze?
Those questions become increasingly complicated as the story progresses.
Sacrifice
There are multiple moments when characters risk themselves to protect other people.
Thomas enters the Maze when he knows the doors are about to close.
Minho and Thomas risk their lives fighting Grievers.
And, ultimately, Chuck dies protecting Thomas.
That final death in particular is one teachers should be prepared for because Chuck is young, likeable, and has spent much of the book talking about wanting to return to his family.
His death hits hard.
Ethics and the Greater Good
This is where The Maze Runner gets especially interesting.
Eventually we learn that the Gladers haven’t simply ended up somewhere dangerous.
Adults deliberately put them there.
Their memories were intentionally removed.
The Maze was created as an experiment.
The Grievers were part of it.
Their fear, stress, choices and reactions were being observed.
The organization behind the experiment — WICKED — believes what they’re doing is justified because humanity is facing a much larger crisis.
And that gives you a fantastic ethical question:
Can hurting a small group of people ever be justified if you believe doing so could save millions of others?
Students don’t necessarily need to reach the same conclusion.
In fact, it’s probably better if they don’t.
This is also a great opportunity to compare The Maze Runner with other dystopian novels. The Hunger Games asks similar questions about young people being sacrificed by those in power, while The House of the Scorpion explores what happens when human lives are treated as expendable.
Violence and Death in The Maze Runner
This is definitely something I would consider before choosing The Maze Runner as a whole-class novel.
The violence isn’t on the same level as an adult horror novel, but this is not a gentle story.
The Grievers are deliberately frightening creatures — part mechanical, part organic — with spikes, blades and other weapons.
Characters can also be “stung” by them, which causes an extremely painful process called the Changing.
The Changing itself could be disturbing for some students.
Ben attacks Thomas after going through it and is eventually banished from the Glade. The boys force him into the Maze before the doors close, knowing that he will almost certainly die.
That’s a pretty dark scene when you actually stop and think about what is happening.
There are also numerous Griever attacks and injuries as the book progresses.
And then there is Chuck.
Spoiler warning for anyone who somehow made it this far without realizing this review contains spoilers: Chuck dies.
After the group escapes the Maze, Gally throws a knife at Thomas.
Chuck jumps in front of him and is killed instead.
Thomas holds him as he dies.
For students who become attached to Chuck — and many probably will — that could be an emotional scene.
Other Content Teachers Should Know About
Beyond the physical violence, the entire premise contains some potentially upsetting ideas.
These are children who have:
- Had their memories taken from them
- Been separated from their families
- Been deliberately frightened
- Been placed in situations where they could die
- Been monitored as part of an experiment
- Had information intentionally withheld from them
There is also discussion of a devastated world outside the Maze and a deadly disease called the Flare.
If you’re teaching the novel, I think it’s worth discussing the psychological side of what has been done to these kids rather than focusing only on the monsters and action.
Language in The Maze Runner
The Gladers have developed their own slang, including words like “shuck,” “klunk” and “shank.”
Most of it essentially replaces real-world profanity.
Personally, I don’t see this as a major classroom concern, but teachers should know about it beforehand — particularly because students will probably start using Glader vocabulary themselves once they’ve been reading the book for a while!
Is The Maze Runner Appropriate for Grade 7?
For many Grade 7 classes, I think it can be.
However, this is one where I would definitely say know your students.
The violence and frightening imagery may be too intense for some younger or particularly sensitive readers.
For Grade 8, I think it becomes an easier recommendation.
Unlike some of the other YA books I’ve reviewed, my concern here wouldn’t really be sexual content, drugs, or mature relationships.
It’s primarily:
- Violence
- Death
- Horror-like creatures
- Psychological manipulation
- Child endangerment
- Medical experimentation
- Disturbing ethical questions
So your decision will probably depend more on your students’ tolerance for intensity than concerns about traditionally “mature” YA content.
If you’re looking for dystopian fiction with less action-based violence, The Giver may be an easier Grade 7 option. If your students are ready for something darker, The Hunger Games deals with significantly more deliberate violence involving children.
Read-Aloud, Literature Circles or Classroom Library?
Honestly, I could see The Maze Runner working in all three.
As a Read-Aloud
This would probably be my favourite classroom use.
The cliffhangers and mystery are PERFECT for a read-aloud.
Imagine stopping for the day immediately after a major reveal.
Your students would lose their minds.
More importantly, reading together allows you to stop and discuss theories as the mystery unfolds.
In Literature Circles
It would also make a great literature-circle choice, especially if you had a dystopian or science-fiction theme.
You could pair it with books like The Giver, Uglies, The Hunger Games or The House of the Scorpion and have students compare how each author imagines a society where people in power believe controlling others is justified.
As a Classroom Library Book
Absolutely.
And the fact that it begins a series is a huge bonus.
One of the best things that can happen with a classroom-library book is a student finishing it and immediately asking:
“Do you have the next one?”
In this case, there actually IS a whole series waiting for them.
I know because that’s exactly what happened to me. I finished The Maze Runner and kept reading through James Dashner’s series because I needed to know what happened next.
The Movie Makes This Even Better for the Classroom
This is another reason I’d seriously consider The Maze Runner for a Grade 7/8 novel study.
There is a movie adaptation.
And rather than treating the movie as a reward for finishing the book, I’d turn it into a media-literacy comparison activity.
The movie makes noticeable changes to characters, events, the Maze and the way information is revealed.
That’s exactly what makes the comparison useful.
Students could examine:
- Which scenes were removed?
- Which events were changed?
- Did the movie reveal information differently?
- How did the visual version of the Maze compare with what they imagined?
- How were the Grievers portrayed?
- Were any characters changed?
- Which version created more suspense?
- Why might filmmakers have made those changes?
- Did the changes improve or weaken the story?
The important question isn’t:
“Was the book or movie better?”
It’s:
“Why did the filmmakers make different storytelling choices, and what effect did those choices have on the audience?”
That’s a much richer media-literacy conversation.
And yes — students will still absolutely argue about which one was better.
A Great Book for Teaching Prediction
If I were building activities around The Maze Runner, prediction would be at the centre.
I genuinely did not know where this story was going when I first read it.
That’s part of why I loved it.
Instead of traditional chapter questions after every reading, I’d be tempted to have students maintain some kind of Maze Theory Tracker.
For example:
What we know
What we think we know
Our current theory
Evidence supporting it
Evidence that contradicts it
Questions we still have
As the novel reveals more information, students would have to revise their thinking.
That’s authentic reading comprehension.
Good readers don’t just make predictions once because a worksheet tells them to.
They constantly revise their understanding as authors give them new information.
The Maze Runner practically begs students to do this.
Final Verdict
I loved The Maze Runner when I first read it, and looking back at it from a classroom perspective makes me appreciate just how much teachers could do with it.
It’s exciting.
It’s unpredictable.
It’s creepy.
It gives students plenty to argue about.
And underneath all the running, monsters and mystery are some genuinely complicated questions about identity, leadership, sacrifice and whether doing something “for the greater good” actually makes it right.
The movie adaptation also gives teachers a natural culminating media-literacy activity rather than having to manufacture one.
Would I use it with every Grade 7 class?
Probably not.
I’d want to know how my students handle violence, death and frightening content first.
But with the right Grade 7 class — or particularly with Grade 8s — I think this could be an incredibly engaging novel.
And if even a few students finish it and immediately want the next book?
Even better.
Overall: 5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Until next time,
Margaret