The two dates on every assignment do different jobs. Understanding the difference helps you pace your class without micromanaging the platform.
Publish Date vs. Due Date
Date | What It Controls | Student Sees It? |
Publish Date | When the assignment becomes visible to students | No — invisible until the publish date |
Due Date | When the assignment is expected to be complete | Yes — displayed prominently to students |
Using the Publish Date
Set the publish date to control when students see assignments. Common patterns:
Same-day publish Set the publish date to today. Students see the assignment immediately. Use this for day-of in-class work.
Day-by-day release Set publish dates to match your daily teaching schedule. Students see one new assignment per day, even if you created them all in advance. This prevents overwhelm and keeps the focus on today's work.
Unit-at-a-time release Set all publish dates within a unit to the unit's start date. Students see everything in the unit at once and can work ahead if they want.
Weekly release Set publish dates to Mondays. Students see all of that week's work on Monday morning, and the previous week's items move to Complete on Friday.
Using the Due Date
The due date is for tracking, not enforcement. Students can complete late work even after the due date passes — the assignment just shifts to "Complete" status in your view.
Why no hard lockout? We trust teachers to set their own late-work policies. Some teachers accept late work for partial credit, others use the due date as a soft suggestion, and others enforce it strictly through grading. Intertwined doesn't impose a policy on you.
Practical Pacing Examples
Example 1: Daily lessons in a 5-day week
Day | Assignment | Publish Date | Due Date |
Mon | Lesson 1 | Mon | Tue |
Tue | Lesson 2 | Tue | Wed |
Wed | Lesson 3 | Wed | Thu |
Thu | Lesson 4 | Thu | Fri |
Fri | Unit Quiz | Fri | Mon |
Example 2: Weekly unit pacing
Week | Assignment | Publish Date | Due Date |
1 | Unit 1: Financial Responsibility | Mon Wk 1 | Fri Wk 1 |
2 | Unit 2: Checking Accounts | Mon Wk 2 | Fri Wk 2 |
3 | Unit 3: Savings & Investing | Mon Wk 3 | Fri Wk 3 |
Bulk-Scheduling at the Start of a Unit
Most experienced Intertwined teachers schedule the entire unit's assignments at once during prep time, with staggered publish dates. This means:
One sit-down planning session covers a full unit
No need to remember to publish each day
Students see clean, focused daily assignments
You can adjust dates later if pacing needs to shift
Adjusting Dates Mid-Unit
Plans change. To shift dates on an existing assignment:
Go to the Assignments tab.
Find the assignment in the list.
Click into it to edit.
Update the publish date, due date, or both.
Save.
The assignment's status will automatically recalculate based on the new dates.
Related articles:
5.1 Creating Your First Assignment
5.2 Understanding Assignment Statuses
5.5 Best Practices for Assignment Pacing