How can I score student journal entries?

Review how to grade individual journal entries in your LMS whether they are configured to create individual gradebook entries or a single gradebook entry.

If the grading type is set to Pass/Fail, journal entries will be graded automatically when students create or edit their entries. When the grading type is set to Points, teachers manually grade students’ journal entries through the Atomic Journals interface.

The process for grading is slightly different depending on whether you have the grading settings configured to create an individual gradebook entry for each writing activity or to create a single gradebook entry for the entire course.

To grade journal entries when you have individual gradebook entries for each writing activity:

  1. Navigate to the writing activity in your LMS content.

  2. Click on the reports icon in the top right corner of the application.

  3. You’ll be shown a list of students in the course.

  4. Click on a student name and you will be shown their journal entry for the current activity.

  5. Underneath the student’s journal entry, you’ll see a form to add a grade for the entry.

    1. A score input field allows you to give the entry a point score.

    2. A feedback field gives you the option to add comments about the entry/grade. Feedback is optional. If added, it will be shown in the LMS gradebook.

  6. After filling out the form, click the Save button to submit the grade.

  7. The grade will be sent to the LMS gradebook.


When you have the grading settings configured to create a single gradebook entry for the entire course, you must first check the Show reports for entire course checkbox on the main reports page before the grading form will be displayed on the student report page. Otherwise, the steps are the same. Similarly, the grading form will not be displayed when you have the Show reports for entire course checkbox checked if you have the grading settings configured to create an individual gradebook entry for each writing activity.

Grades can be viewed in the LMS gradebook, but teachers can also view them on the reports page. Students cannot view their grades through the Atomic Journals interface; they need to use the LMS gradebook.

Canvas support for LTI Advantage does not allow a tool like Atomic Journals to retrieve scores that were manually set in Canvas (as opposed to setting scores through the application). Because of that, it is recommended that teachers score activities through the Atomic Journals interface rather than scoring them through the Canvas gradebook.


Related Articles

  • What course settings can I configure in Atomic Journals?
  • How can I view and download all of my journal entries?
  • How can I view student journal entries in Atomic Journals?