My gosh, this takes me back to my school days. It was called Domestic Science at our school. The first thing we sewed was a basic bibbed apron. This involved drawing a pattern on a sheet of brown paper - Grade 5 girls are all different sizes and heights so there was no "one size fits all" pattern. Then we cut the pattern and sewed/hemmed the apron and attached the neck strap and waist ties. Once we had our aprons finished, then we learned to bake the basics - tea buns, cheese pinwheels, pancakes, mac and cheese, etc.. We made vats of orange marmelade for our annual school sale. We also did "fancy work" - made and embroidered cloths for roll baskets, tray cloths, etc.. We learned how to cross-stitch as well.
My Domestic Science teacher passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 94 - she was well loved by her former students if attendance at the visitation and funeral was any indication.