In 2013, Python seems to be more popular for teaching. possibly because of the £50 Raspberry Pi linux computer
Many years ago, I taught an introduction to Python, and have just found my old notes. I might as well make them available, so here they are. I will be making v.minor enhancements, so have not provided a zipped version yet.

Here are the notes

They use Python 2, not the recent Python 3. This is not a major problem. Also, the notes refer to the IDLE development environment, which is supplied with the Python download.

For beginners, I also recommend:
http://www.sthurlow.com/python/
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Non-Programmer%27s_Tutorial_for_Python_2.6
http://www.afterhoursprogramming.com/tutorial/Python/Functions/
Note that I do not recommend 'The Python Tutorial' for beginners. It is good, but for those with experience.