Course Guide & Lesson Outlines
Use this guide to compare the learning goals and planned practice across our 15 introductory courses. Each three-lesson outline identifies what to study, what to try, and how to check your understanding.
Library status: Lesson development is in progress. These outlines describe the curriculum; they do not mean every full lesson or assessment is ready. Paid enrollment will open after curriculum and access checks are complete. Try the free HVAC introduction now.
Choose a starting point
For math, begin with Math Fundamentals before Trigonometry, then Calculus I. For writing, begin with English Composition and use Literature to study how authors make choices. Work and trade subjects provide awareness and vocabulary before approved or supervised practical training.
- Advanced Physics
- Calculus I
- Cold-Deli Operations
- English Composition
- Flooring & Tufting Trade Skills
- Grocery Sales & Customer Service
- HVAC Fundamentals
- Literature: Reading Like a Writer
- Math Fundamentals
- Music Production Fundamentals
- Nursing Fundamentals (CNA Prep)
- OSHA Safety Certification Prep
- Real Estate Fundamentals
- Trigonometry
- Valet Parking Essentials
Advanced Physics
1. Kinematics: Position, Velocity & Acceleration
Learning outcome: Distinguish position, velocity, and acceleration.
Lesson outline: Reference direction, distance versus displacement, average velocity, acceleration, units, and graphs.
Practice activity: A cart moves from 2 m to 14 m in 4 s. Find displacement and average velocity.
Success criteria and example answer
Displacement is +12 m and average velocity +3 m/s; acceleration needs more information.
2. Newton’s Laws & Force Analysis
Learning outcome: Relate net force to acceleration.
Lesson outline: System boundaries, force diagrams, contact forces, weight, balanced forces, and idealized assumptions.
Practice activity: A 2 kg cart experiences 10 N right and 4 N left. Find acceleration.
Success criteria and example answer
Net force is 6 N right, giving 3 m/s² right.
3. Energy, Work & Momentum Conservation
Learning outcome: Choose an energy or momentum model.
Lesson outline: Work, kinetic energy, potential energy, momentum, external forces, and conservation conditions.
Practice activity: Find energy and momentum for a 2 kg cart moving at 3 m/s.
Success criteria and example answer
Kinetic energy is 9 J; momentum is 6 kg·m/s in the direction of motion.
Calculus I
1. Understanding Limits
Learning outcome: Distinguish a limit from a function value.
Lesson outline: Approaching from both sides, tables, graphs, continuity, removable gaps, and simplification.
Practice activity: Find the limit of (x² − 1)/(x − 1) as x approaches 1.
Success criteria and example answer
For x ≠ 1 the expression is x + 1, so the limit is 2 although the original value is undefined at 1.
2. Introduction to Derivatives
Learning outcome: Interpret a derivative as a rate.
Lesson outline: Secant and tangent slope, the derivative definition, power rule, constants, and rate units.
Practice activity: Differentiate x³ + 2x and evaluate the derivative at x = 2.
Success criteria and example answer
The derivative is 3x² + 2; its value at 2 is 14.
3. Applications of Derivatives
Learning outcome: Use derivatives to analyze a function.
Lesson outline: Critical points, increasing and decreasing intervals, endpoints, optimization, and domain.
Practice activity: Find the minimum of x² − 4x + 5 on 0 ≤ x ≤ 4.
Success criteria and example answer
The derivative is 2x − 4; at x = 2 the value is 1, below both endpoint values of 5.
Cold-Deli Operations
1. Food Safety & Sanitation Basics
Learning outcome: Identify food-service hygiene decisions.
Lesson outline: Personal hygiene, illness reporting, cross-contamination, cleaning versus sanitizing, and local food rules.
Practice activity: Mark contamination risks on a fictional counter plan.
Success criteria and example answer
Identify the approved procedure for each risk rather than guess a temperature or sanitizer concentration.
2. Slicing, Portioning & Presentation
Learning outcome: Plan consistent portions and a safe station.
Lesson outline: Product identification, portions, scales, labeling, presentation, and trained slicer operation.
Practice activity: Calculate five 0.25-pound portions and draft a station checklist.
Success criteria and example answer
The total is 1.25 pounds; include labeling and cleaning checks and supervised equipment training.
3. Customer Service at the Counter
Learning outcome: Clarify an order and handle an allergy question.
Lesson outline: Quantity, slice preference, packaging, queue communication, verified ingredient information, and escalation.
Practice activity: Role-play an order with an unavailable product and an allergy question.
Success criteria and example answer
Repeat the order accurately and never guess whether food is safe for an allergy.
English Composition
1. Building a Strong Thesis & Outline
Learning outcome: Write a focused thesis and logical outline.
Lesson outline: Audience, purpose, scope, claim, reasons, counterargument, and ordering ideas.
Practice activity: Turn “libraries are useful” into a specific claim with three supporting paragraphs.
Success criteria and example answer
Make a debatable claim and assign each paragraph a distinct reason and evidence.
2. Paragraph Structure & Evidence
Learning outcome: Connect evidence to a paragraph claim.
Lesson outline: Topic sentences, context, examples, sources, attribution, explanation, and transitions.
Practice activity: Draft a paragraph with an observation or accurately cited source.
Success criteria and example answer
Explain why evidence supports the claim; a quotation alone is not analysis.
3. Revision, Grammar & Style
Learning outcome: Revise structure before polishing sentences.
Lesson outline: Reverse outlines, logic, unity, clarity, grammar patterns, proofreading, and source verification.
Practice activity: Revise a draft in three passes: argument, paragraphs, sentences.
Success criteria and example answer
Record one meaningful change per pass and verify quotations and citations.
Flooring & Tufting Trade Skills
1. Tools, Materials & Subfloor Prep
Learning outcome: Build a flooring readiness checklist.
Lesson outline: Floor layers, product compatibility, dimensions, substrate checks, moisture, and unknown materials.
Practice activity: Plan for a fictional 14-by-9-foot room with unknown adhesive.
Success criteria and example answer
Area is 126 square feet; unresolved materials and conditions need qualified assessment.
2. Installation Techniques
Learning outcome: Plan an installation sequence and checks.
Lesson outline: Product instructions, substrate acceptance, layout, seams, transitions, allowances, and handover.
Practice activity: Sketch a 12-by-10-foot room and mark checkpoints and work stages.
Success criteria and example answer
Separate planning from trained equipment use and pause for unresolved conditions.
3. Tufting Basics & Finishing Work
Learning outcome: Plan a tufted design and finishing review.
Lesson outline: Backing, yarn, cut versus loop pile, mirrored designs, edges, and intended use.
Practice activity: Draw a two-color 8-by-8-inch design with materials and five quality checks.
Success criteria and example answer
Check shape, coverage, secure edges, compatible backing, and suitability for use.
Grocery Sales & Customer Service
1. Greeting & Assisting Customers
Learning outcome: Help a shopper through a clear exchange.
Lesson outline: Open questions, listening, directions, accessibility, stock uncertainty, and closing the interaction.
Practice activity: Write a response for a shopper who cannot find an item.
Success criteria and example answer
Clarify the need, verify the location or seek help, and check the next step.
2. Product Knowledge & Upselling
Learning outcome: Recommend a product using accurate information.
Lesson outline: Labels, unit prices, features and benefits, substitutions, budgets, and customer preferences.
Practice activity: Compare 12 ounces for $3 with 18 ounces for $4.50.
Success criteria and example answer
Both cost $0.25 per ounce; explain how quantity and likely waste affect the choice.
3. Handling Returns, Complaints & Difficult Situations
Learning outcome: Resolve a complaint within store policy.
Lesson outline: Listening without blame, receipts, eligibility, privacy, authority limits, and de-escalation.
Practice activity: Draft a response to a damaged-item return with an unclear receipt.
Success criteria and example answer
Check policy, explain available options, and involve a supervisor where needed.
HVAC Fundamentals
1. Welcome to HVAC: What Technicians Actually Do (Free Preview)
Learning outcome: Describe the work of an HVAC technician.
Lesson outline: Heating, ventilation, cooling, comfort, observations, and limits of introductory study.
Practice activity: Map the parts of a fictional building system.
Success criteria and example answer
Identify the purpose of each part and tasks requiring qualified training.
2. Tools & Safety on the Job
Learning outcome: Recognize common tools and when to seek help.
Lesson outline: Measurement versus adjustment; manuals; electrical, refrigerant, pressure, and combustion hazards.
Practice activity: Sort fictional tasks into observe, report, and trained-person-only work.
Success criteria and example answer
Explain why reading about a tool never authorizes equipment repair.
3. Reading a System: Furnaces, Heat Pumps & Ductwork
Learning outcome: Explain the parts of a basic HVAC system.
Lesson outline: Thermostat demand, heat source, air distribution, return air, furnaces, and heat pumps.
Practice activity: Draw a labeled system diagram on paper.
Success criteria and example answer
Trace energy and airflow without proposing a repair.
Literature: Reading Like a Writer
1. How to Read Closely
Learning outcome: Support an interpretation with textual details.
Lesson outline: Observation, inference, diction, imagery, repetition, ambiguity, and accurate quotation.
Practice activity: Annotate an original three-sentence scene and separate observation from interpretation.
Success criteria and example answer
Connect a claim to specific words and acknowledge an alternative reading.
2. Character, Voice & Point of View
Learning outcome: Explain how narrative choices affect readers.
Lesson outline: Narrator versus author, point of view, access to thoughts, reliability, dialogue, and character.
Practice activity: Rewrite an original scene from two perspectives.
Success criteria and example answer
Explain what each narrator knows, notices, and withholds and how the effect changes.
3. Theme, Symbolism & Structure
Learning outcome: Trace an idea through a text.
Lesson outline: Topic versus theme, recurring imagery, symbols in context, turning points, and endings.
Practice activity: Write a theme claim supported by two moments from a text you may use.
Success criteria and example answer
Make an arguable meaning claim and explain how evidence and structure develop it.
Math Fundamentals
1. Whole Numbers, Fractions & Decimals
Learning outcome: Convert and compare common number forms.
Lesson outline: Place value, equivalent fractions, common denominators, decimal conversion, and estimation.
Practice activity: Calculate 3/4 + 1/2 and express the answer as a decimal.
Success criteria and example answer
3/4 + 2/4 = 5/4 = 1.25.
2. Ratios, Percentages & Proportions
Learning outcome: Solve percentage and proportion problems.
Lesson outline: Part, whole, rate, percentages, scaling, unit rates, and reasonableness checks.
Practice activity: Find 15% of 80 and scale four servings to ten.
Success criteria and example answer
15% of 80 is 12; scale every ingredient by 10/4 = 2.5.
3. Intro to Algebraic Thinking
Learning outcome: Translate a statement into an equation.
Lesson outline: Variables, expressions, equations, inverse operations, equality, and substitution.
Practice activity: Solve 3x + 5 = 20 and check the result.
Success criteria and example answer
Subtract 5 and divide by 3: x = 5. Substitution gives 20 = 20.
Music Production Fundamentals
1. DAW Basics & Studio Setup
Learning outcome: Organize a simple audio session.
Lesson outline: Audio versus MIDI, tracks, inputs and outputs, monitoring, project folders, backups, and source rights.
Practice activity: Plan four tracks and a consistent file-naming scheme.
Success criteria and example answer
Distinguish recorded sound from note instructions and preserve the project and media.
2. Beat Making & Arrangement
Learning outcome: Build a coherent musical arrangement.
Lesson outline: Tempo, meter, rhythm, repetition, contrast, sections, transitions, and licensed or original material.
Practice activity: Expand an eight-bar idea into an intro, main section, variation, and ending.
Success criteria and example answer
Explain how a deliberate change creates contrast while retaining the pulse.
3. Mixing Fundamentals & Exporting
Learning outcome: Review and export a mix for a stated purpose.
Lesson outline: Level balance, clipping, panning, equalization, reference listening, formats, and export verification.
Practice activity: Write a listening checklist and compare a mix with its export.
Success criteria and example answer
Check distortion, start and end, intended format, and playback; retain the editable source.
Nursing Fundamentals (CNA Prep)
1. Patient Care Basics & Vital Signs
Learning outcome: Separate observations from clinical interpretation.
Lesson outline: Care-team roles, dignity, consent, objective observations, vital-sign vocabulary, and reporting changes.
Practice activity: Rewrite subjective notes into factual observations in a fictional scenario.
Success criteria and example answer
Record what was observed and who was notified; do not diagnose or perform clinical procedures.
2. Infection Control & Safety
Learning outcome: Explain standard precautions.
Lesson outline: Hand hygiene, task-based protective equipment, exposure prevention, cleaning responsibilities, and facility training.
Practice activity: List questions to ask before a fictional care task with possible body-fluid exposure.
Success criteria and example answer
Use approved procedures and trained supervision; gloves do not replace hand hygiene.
3. Communication & Documentation
Learning outcome: Give a factual and respectful care handoff.
Lesson outline: Privacy, objective language, timely reporting, approved records, and reporting channels.
Practice activity: Write a fictional handoff: situation, observation, action, and notification.
Success criteria and example answer
Protect identity, use factual details, and avoid unsupported diagnoses.
OSHA Safety Certification Prep
1. Hazard Recognition & PPE
Learning outcome: Recognize hazards and distinguish controls from PPE.
Lesson outline: Hazard versus risk, elimination, substitution, engineering and administrative controls, and PPE limits.
Practice activity: Create a fictional hazard register with hazard, harm, control, and responsible person.
Success criteria and example answer
Address the source where possible and use employer assessment and training for PPE.
2. OSHA Standards & Recordkeeping
Learning outcome: Find safety information and record facts.
Lesson outline: OSHA role, industry scope, standards lookup, employer procedures, incident reports, and recordkeeping roles.
Practice activity: Draft a factual near-miss report and questions for a safety lead.
Success criteria and example answer
Verify the current applicable rule rather than guess deadlines or coverage.
3. Emergency Procedures & Exam Prep
Learning outcome: Explain a site-specific emergency plan.
Lesson outline: Alarms, reporting, evacuation routes, assembly points, accountability, roles, and training.
Practice activity: Describe routes and an inaccessible-route alternative on a fictional floor plan.
Success criteria and example answer
Follow the site plan, report to assembly, and re-enter only when authorized. No OSHA card is awarded.
Real Estate Fundamentals
1. How Real Estate Transactions Work
Learning outcome: Describe a typical property transaction.
Lesson outline: Buyer and seller roles, financing, offers, inspection, contingencies, closing, and local differences.
Practice activity: Arrange a fictional transaction timeline and flag professional advice points.
Success criteria and example answer
Distinguish a general process from a binding contract deadline or local licensing rule.
2. Property Valuation & Comps
Learning outcome: Compare properties with appropriate context.
Lesson outline: Location, type, size, condition, sale date, asking versus sold price, and uncertainty.
Practice activity: Rank three fictional sales by relevance to a subject property.
Success criteria and example answer
Use similarity and evidence; do not present an average as a professional appraisal.
3. Contracts, Closing & Working with Clients
Learning outcome: Ask useful questions about contracts and closing.
Lesson outline: Written terms, responsibilities, contingencies, deadlines, disclosures, confidentiality, and professional advice.
Practice activity: Create a closing-document questions checklist for a fictional buyer.
Success criteria and example answer
Identify who should answer each question and avoid replacing legal review with a template.
Trigonometry
1. Sine, Cosine & Tangent Basics
Learning outcome: Choose a ratio in a right triangle.
Lesson outline: Opposite, adjacent, hypotenuse, sine, cosine, tangent, and calculator angle mode.
Practice activity: For a chosen angle, opposite = 3, adjacent = 4, hypotenuse = 5. Find the ratios.
Success criteria and example answer
sin = 3/5; cos = 4/5; tan = 3/4. Labels depend on the chosen angle.
2. The Unit Circle & Radians
Learning outcome: Connect radians and the unit circle.
Lesson outline: Degree conversion, coordinates (cos θ, sin θ), quadrants, common angles, and signs.
Practice activity: Convert 150° to radians and identify sine and cosine signs.
Success criteria and example answer
150° = 5π/6; sine is positive and cosine negative in quadrant II.
3. Solving Triangles & Real-World Applications
Learning outcome: Model a measurement problem using a triangle.
Lesson outline: Right-triangle ratios, inverse functions, sine and cosine rules, assumptions, units, and rounding.
Practice activity: A right triangle has adjacent side 10 m and angle 30°. Find the opposite side.
Success criteria and example answer
10 tan 30° ≈ 5.77 m. The paper model is not a real equipment design specification.
Valet Parking Essentials
1. Arrival: Vehicle Intake & Ticketing
Learning outcome: Create a clear vehicle-intake record.
Lesson outline: Greeting, vehicle identification, visible condition, belongings, ticket and key matching, and privacy.
Practice activity: Role-play an arrival using fictional customer and vehicle details.
Success criteria and example answer
Match the ticket, keys, and vehicle and record observations neutrally.
2. Parking, Retrieval & Vehicle Care
Learning outcome: Plan an orderly retrieval handoff.
Lesson outline: Site routes, pedestrians, authorization, key control, vehicle care, and incident reporting.
Practice activity: Use a paper lot plan to describe retrieval when a route is blocked.
Success criteria and example answer
Prioritize people, follow site procedures, and verify the authorized recipient.
3. Customer Service, Tips & Liability Basics
Learning outcome: Respond professionally to a service complaint.
Lesson outline: Listening, accessibility requests, tips under policy, factual records, and supervisor escalation.
Practice activity: Write a response to a customer reporting a scratch.
Success criteria and example answer
Acknowledge the concern, preserve facts, and avoid inventing liability conclusions.
How to study
- Write the learning outcome in your own words before starting.
- Take notes on the main ideas, using one example per idea.
- Try the activity before opening the success criteria.
- Compare your reasoning with the answer, then correct and explain any difference.
- Record one question to revisit or ask through learner support.
Scope and official resources
These materials are introductory. They do not confer college credit, a professional license, CNA qualification, an OSHA card, or authority to operate equipment or provide clinical care. Use approved training and current local requirements for regulated work.
- OSHA Outreach Training Program — information about authorized OSHA training.
- EPA Section 608 certification — refrigerant technician requirements.
- CDC standard precautions — infection-prevention principles.
- FDA Food Code — model guidance; verify the locally adopted rules.
- EPA asbestos guidance — information on suspect building materials.
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