I suspect this will prompt a shudder amongst many, but I think the box model is the perfect starting point. Probably the most complex component to get one’s head around, it’s easy to “rehabilitate” the manual html coder or to educate the novice by demonstrating the power of boxes and divs. For an immediate visceral effect, it allows a site-builder to change colors, fonts, sizes, and page organisation in one hit.
Class and id follow naturally.
Lists immediately after.
Tables can be reserved for implementing real tables.
This approach puts the emphasis on the separation of content and presentation, and brings the novice straight to the most important part of page construction: Design. It also mirrors word processor use, showing useful things like header/footer/margin/justification concepts which so many are familiar with. My tuppence …