With a lot of hype around blockchain and smart contracts it can be a bit difficult to get an overview. This is an article by Gjermund Bjaanes on "Understanding Ethereum Smart Contracts" that we found to be on the more beginner-friendly side and helpful for getting started:

http://www.gjermundbjaanes.com/understanding-ethereum-smart-contracts/

It can be used as pre-workshop reading material or as resource that participants can share with others who want to get a high level overview on how Smart Contracts work (especially in the context of Tokens).