Hi
I was a primary TA for ten years, now a voluntary helper in a combined Yr2 / 3 / 4 class.
Our able readers often choose poetry books, but they are an extension of the Scheme books.
I get the child to look at how the form of a poem differs from prose; they invariable think it should rhyme, but of course not all poems do. There is often a Contents page, so child can choose which poem(s) to read, and not have to work through in sequence as in a story book.
I insist I am told the Title first; children often want to go straight to the first line of a poem, and it's nice to also name the writer, which invariably appears at the end. A poem's content may be quite obscure; for instance one about children seeing an old castle which then seems to come to life - but have the children fallen asleep and dreamt it? But then they see hoof prints on the ground! So the mystery is never resolved . . .
For a child that has the confidence to put in plenty of expression, changes of voice for characters, changes of pace to convey different moods, then poems give them space to express themselves. The more shy or reluctant reader can go a little way towards self-expression in a poem.
Children's poems are often humorous, even surreal, and again, this allows a different approach from prose.
I don't think there are any 'rules' how it should be tackled, just encourage a child to go 'further' than just reading the words. If it is a poem he can ENJOY, whether it be funny, mysterious, spooky, gory, etc then he should be able to put something of himself into it. Personally I would encourage quality rather than quantity, and one poem worked on thoughtfully is probably preferable to rattling through half a dozen.