Instructors usually create Moodle activities in their courses and set up grading for them so they account for the overall course grade, such as a graded assignment activity or a graded quiz activity created in Moodle using the Add an activity or resource button. However, sometimes, a grade item is needed in the calculation but doesn't necessarily have a corresponding Moodle activity, such as graded events hosted in person instead of in Moodle or a general participation grade based on observations.

For them, instructors can create a grade item manually in the course gradebook, which allows them to document grades and have them calculated as planned.

In the target course, click the Grades tab below the course title and then select Gradebook Setup for the drop-down menu below the course navigation bar. On the Gradebook Setup page, Choose "Add grade item" from the Add drop-down menu.

In the New grade item window, add your item name and set the maximum grade/points. Use the Grade category drop-down menu to choose where to place this new grade item as you see fit. Typically, a Natural gradebook does not need grade categories thus you can leave the grade category drop-down menu as the default, which is the overall course category. Please leave the the rest of the settings as the default. Reach out to Help Desk if you have any questions. Click Save to create the new grade item.

In the New grade item window, add your item name. Use the Grade category drop-down menu to choose where to place this new grade item as you see fit. Typically, a Weighted Mean of Grades gradebook needs grade categories to facilitate grade calculations, thus you'll want to make sure that the new grade item is under its matching category. Reach out to Help Desk if you have any questions. Click Save to create the new grade item.

If you haven't already and if applies, you should move the newly created grade item under its designated grade category. Add an item weight in the Weights box for the item in the course gradebook.