In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.

Click the Add Discussion button.

Enter a topic title [1] and discussion details [2]. You can also attach files [3].

Learn more about creating a discussion.

Click the Graded checkbox [1] and the This is a Group Discussion checkbox [2].

Note: Graded discussions cannot be anonymous. If the Graded checkbox is not visible, you may need to turn off anonymous discussion.

To select which groups will be assigned, click the Group Set drop-down menu [1]. Select a group name [2] or add a new group set by clicking the New Group Category link [3].

Note: Groups created by students cannot be used for Group Discussions and do not display in the Group Set drop-down menu.

Enter the total number of points possible in the Points Possible field [1].

To select a grading type, click the Display Grade As drop-down menu [2]. Then select a grading type. You can display grades as points, percentages, complete/incomplete, a letter grade, or a GPA scale.

To choose an assignment group, click the Assignment Group drop-down menu [3]. Then, select a group.

If you display grades as letter grades, the grading scheme defaults to the Default Canvas Grading Scheme. To select another grading scheme, click the Grading Scheme drop-down menu [1] and select another scheme.

You can view [2] or copy [3] the current grading scheme. You can also create a new grading scheme [4] or manage all grading schemes [5].

Learn more about adding grading schemes to an assignment such as a graded discussion.

By default, peer reviews are not assigned.

To assign peer reviews manually, click the Assign manually radio button [1].

To assign peer reviews automatically, click the Automatically assign radio button [2].

To manage assignees, the discussion due date, or availability dates, click the Manage Assign To link [1].

By default, Canvas assigns your graded discussion to everyone in your course. Remove everyone by clicking the Remove icon [2].

To add individual group, click the Assign To field and select a group name.

Note: You can include more than one group in the Assign To field as long as the groups are to be assigned the same due and availability dates.

In the date fields, add your preferred date(s) for the following:

• Due Date [1]: Set the date and time that the graded discussion is due.
• Available From [2]: Set the date and time when the discussion will become available.
• Until [3]: Set the date and time when the discussion will no longer be available.

Notes:

• If you have set section override dates in your course, you may need to select a course section and set due and availability dates that fall within the section override dates.
• If the course does not include specified course start and end dates, Canvas validates the discussion against the term date set for the course.
• If your course is not using Multiple Grading Periods, the due date is validated against the closed grading period and requires the discussion date to be past the date of the closed grading period.

To add one or more students with a different due date and availability dates, click the Add button.

Canvas displays the time zone date and time according to context [1]. If you manage courses in a time zone other than your local time zone and create or edit a due date for a graded discussion, the course and local times are displayed for reference.

To save the discussion assignment details, click the Apply button [2].

If you are ready to publish your discussion, click the Save & Publish button [1]. If you want to create a draft of your discussion and publish it later, click the Save button [2].

If there is only one set of assignment dates, you can view the assignees [1], the due date [2], and the number of points possible [3].

If there are multiple assignments, you can view users and due dates for the discussion by clicking the View Due Dates link.

View the dates assigned to the graded discussion [1].

To close the Due Dates window, click the Close icon [2].