This school year, students in elementary, middle and high schools in some states will get a new lesson on safety: what to do if they find a firearm.

Arkansas, Tennessee and Utah are the first states to enact laws that require public schools to teach children as young as 5 the basics of gun safety and how to properly store guns in the home. Only Utah's law allows students to opt out of the lesson if requested by parents or guardians.

A similar law in Arizona was vetoed by the Democratic governor, and lawmakers in at least five other states have introduced such proposals, putting schools at the forefront of yet another debate about gun violence.

In Tennessee, lesson plans could include stickers, games, quizzes, or videos with music and colorful firearm illustrations, including a gun made out of Lego-style bricks and an explanation of what a muzzleloader is.

The reality is that many children in the U.S. grow up around firearms.

At Berclair Elementary School in Memphis, a class of 16 fifth graders were asked how many had seen a real gun during their gun safety lesson. Nearly all raised their hands.

"Students learn by watching, especially if it's a communication barrier. So watching the film made them realize that it was a problem if you found a weapon in a book bag and what you needed to do," said Tammie Chapman, a health and physical education instructor, who has been leading the lessons at this school. "And I asked a question, like I did today, 'How many of you have ever seen a real gun?' And you're just so amazed. And then it shows you just how much a class like this is needed."

"The legislation required that this curriculum be non-political and, of course, we did our best to adhere to that. So the curriculum really just focuses on what should a student do if they find a firearm? What are the actual pieces of a firearm and, for example, knowing that you should always point a muzzle away from someone, never point it at someone," said Emily Buck, director of public relations for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, which created a curriculum with the state Department of Education.

The lessons are often adapted from hunting safety courses already administered by state hunting and wildlife agencies, but with key differences.

Hunter safety courses typically involve hands-on instruction and explanations of how to safely handle and fire a gun. These classroom lessons, on the other hand, emphasize that children should not touch a firearm.

In Tennessee, the legislation prohibits any use of actual firearms, but in Arkansas, the law allows parents to opt into alternative curriculums, such as an off-campus firearm safety course that could include live guns.

The main takeaway is a series of steps for when a child finds a gun: Stop, don't touch, leave quickly, tell an adult. This is consistent with instructions created by other organizations, including one from the National Rifle Association that features animated characters, videos and coloring pages.

At Berclair Elementary School, the faculty designed a relay-race game to keep students engaged. In the gym, students took turns running to buckets that had different photos. Students who found a picture of a gun then reported it to one of the adults. They also listened to a catchy jingle emphasizing the steps.

Gun legislation is a partisan issue across the U.S., with Democratic-led states enacting more limits on access to guns and efforts to tighten gun laws often failing in Republican-controlled legislatures.

Republicans sponsored and supported the education bills in Arkansas, Tennessee and Utah. The legislation says the curriculum must have neutral viewpoints on any gun-related topics, such as gun ownership in general.

Voices for a Safer Tennessee, a nonpartisan nonprofit created by parents after The Covenant School shooting in Nashville, supported the legislation. The organization supports gun ownership and advocates for policies like expanded background checks.

These lessons may encourage families to start necessary conversations, said Jessica Jaglois, director of communications for the organization.

"So when we hear from parents that they might be concerned or that they are for this curriculum, we simply bring it back to the facts, that knowing what to do if a child ever comes across an unsecured firearm is of the utmost importance. Because unfortunately in our state, it is more likely to happen. And so we want to make sure, and our goal is, that every child and every family does not experience a firearm accident or tragedy. And in any way that we need to do that, that is age appropriate and non-political, we are for," said Jaglois.

Some Democrats and gun safety organizations viewed the legislation as the wrong approach to gun violence. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that injuries from firearms have been the leading cause of death for U.S. children ages 1 through 17 since 2020.

The states gave school districts some discretion on whether to use provided lesson plans or go with other instructions that adhere to the laws' language. The schools also can decide which faculty or staff will lead the lessons, or in some instances bring in police officers to talk about gun safety.

In Arkansas, schools might choose to incorporate the lessons as a part of annual safety training, such as when they are practicing fire safety or tornado drills, said Spencer Griffith, a deputy director with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

AP video by Kristin M. Hall and George Walker IV