[@Kibaro]
Never hurts to have both ranged and melee options.  Also good to have at least one dagger, 'cause you never know when you might be grappled/swallowed.

Entangle can affect allies, which is why you drop it on a crowd on baddies before the party goes in.  It's good for crowd control.

Summon Nature's Ally spells, as well as it's relative Summon Monster, are great for one thing in particular - MEAT SHIELD.  Also distraction.  Although with your low caster level at this point (just like the rest of us), it's not as effective at the moment (what with it having a duration of round/CL).  Once you have a few levels, it becomes a bit more useful, since it'll last long enough to play a part in battle.  That said, even at this low of level, it can still be used to trigger some traps.

Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it.  Just take some time to look over what spells you can use and figure out what might be handy.  It takes time to get the hang of reading spell info and figuring if it's handy or not.