I can only comment on my course which was 1-2-1, other formats may start elsewhere.
Yes, I literally started with 2 pieces of wood which I thicknessed and squared off an edge, joined and glued on cap. I then made a body template and neck template from plywood (which I still have) by drawing Jons template on the plywood and then cutting it all on a bandsaw. There then followed finishing the edges to be smooth. That was day 1 . Here's a few photos of the first couple of steps. The plywood for the templates can be seen on photos 2 on the left handside under the the other wood and with pencil on the end.