Karate class information needed

It really depends on the Dojo and the style. When I took Karate it was Shotokan with a small Dojo, only a dozen of us (there are dozens of branches of Karate, but Shotokan is one of the biggest and claims the longest tradition, higher levels must travel to Japan to be graded). Of course that small we all trained together. I'd imagine the training is similar to TKD. At first you learn stances and a few punches and blocks, then advance to kicks. An important part of grading for belts is the Kata, which is a sort of dance almost, a per-determined series of moves, different for every belt level, designed to show the kicks, blocks and punches appropriate for that level.

I agree with Drachen, it really does depend on the dojo. We were about 16 people (age 14-40) of mixed gender. We all trained together and mixed a lot, so the ones who'd been practicing longer could show the beginners some tricks, tell them what they needed to improve etc.
In the end of each class we usually sat together, sensei made sure everyone sat straight, and then we simply sat in silence, breathing together, for about 10-30 minutes, depending on yourself and how busy your day was

When I did TKD, we always started with a warm-up. Otherwise you can get serious injuries. And don't forget the warm-down.

But yeah, beginner lessons are about learning the moves.

When I took it years ago, the kids/teens classes were divided into two levels- upper belts and lower belts and then all the adults in one class together. The upper class was much more physical as they could do more complicated moves and had much harder tests to prepare for. I got moved into the adult class at 14 as there was only one adult female and they didn't want her to have to work alone or with stronger guys all the time.
Starting out was very simple- just a few moves mentioned by Drachen and always a warm-up mentioned by mirandashell that included extensive streching to not hurt yourself and improve flexiblity.

Oh yeah! I remember stretch classes! Man, they used to hurt. But they really did work. After a few months, I was able to drop straight into a box split. If I tried that now, I'd split in half.

PM me or email me at brickcommajason (at) gmail. I ran a karate school for seven years, and managed one for five years before that. I'm happy to help in any way you need.

The karate school the rest of my family goes to splits the kids by belt (there are three levels), and has one class for adults of all levels.

Except for the black belts and the very-nearly black belts - they all train together regardless of age.

Absolute beginners learn simple moves and also how you'd spar (i.e. which bit of the foot you'd kick with). They do this long before they spar for real. Also basic things like counting to ten in Japanese and who you bow to when.